


Off to the City

by BunnyMask



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist AU, Everyone's an artist!, F/M, Fluff, Kairi & Riku & Sora Friendship (Kingdom Hearts), Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, My sister said this story is about Riku and Sora kissing and Kairi trying to live her life, Or at least they're all in creative fields, The most self indulgent thing I have ever written, Vanitas Xion and Roxas are important but not main characters, lots of characters appear but I only tagged the ones with biggish roles, slow burn but like there's a kiss every other chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2020-11-22 03:30:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20867468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyMask/pseuds/BunnyMask
Summary: Sora moved to Radiant Garden to be near Riku, having Kairi there too is just a bonus. After all, everyone always told Sora and Kairi that they'd end up together and Sora always believed it! ...So why did he kiss Riku and why didn't it feel wrong?Riku won a writing contest and got hired at Dark Fairy Press. He got a job at a big publisher and works under the boss herself, so it really shouldn't be long until he gets published, right?Kairi wants nothing more than to take pictures, but unfortunately, she needs to find a job. She can't just let Riku and Sora support her forever. Well, she could, but why would she want that?In which, Riku, Sora, and Kairi move to Radiant Garden to pursue their artistic endeavors. Along the way, they make friends, go broke, and discover some things about themselves.Updates 3x a week





	1. Midnight

Sora hadn't realized that he'd missed these moments so much. It’d been too long since he, Riku, and Kairi had stayed up late, crowded around a computer screen, clicking through videos, and talking about nothing and everything. It was something that had defined their high school years. Sora and Kairi didn’t stop hanging out when Riku graduated and left the islands for Radiant Garden, but it wasn’t the same. It was still fun, but it was always kind of tense. 

Maybe it was because he and Kairi were always on this weird border in regards to their relationship. Being alone together was never really easy. It always felt like they should be doing something else. Everyone had always said they'd end up together, that they'd get married one day. And of course Sora wanted that too, but he didn't want to rush it.

Sora’s eyes made their way to Kairi. She was already sleeping. That was fair she’d had a long day of job searching. He looked over at Riku. Riku looked back at him. Sora smiled.

“Have you seen the ‘Verum Rex as Vines’ video?”

“Should I have?”

“Yea!” Sora sat up and started typing into the search bar, “You’ll like it!”

Riku chuckled.

He’d missed that.

After Riku left, they’d tried to keep in touch, but they rarely talked. Sora got busy with school and Riku got busy with whatever he’d been up to in Radiant Garden. When Sora graduated he hadn’t seen Riku in nearly a year and he hadn’t actually expected him to show up to the graduation. He did show up though and stayed for a whole week. That week Sora realized that he didn’t want to be separated from him again. Life without Riku just wasn’t full. So, he decided he was going to move to Radiant Garden with Riku.

He’d expected more pushback, any pushback really, but Riku just laughed and accepted it. Sora’s parents told him that they’d assumed that was his plan in the first place. Even Kairi just shrugged it off, since she was planning to move to Radiant Garden anyway to launch her career in photography. That’s how they’d all ended up moving into their Radiant Garden apartment.

“Which character was that?” Riku paused the video.

“You haven’t played the newest Verum Rex game?”

“I haven’t had a bunch of time to play video games.”

“Oh! There’s this Let’s Player I like!” Sora opened another tab, “we can watch her if you want.”

Riku hummed in agreement.

"She's really funny," Sora clicked on her channel, "And she makes really interesting theories. She always points out cool things," Sora turned his gaze to Riku. He was looking at Sora, but Sora wasn't sure he was hearing him. Sora laid down, so they were eye level. They had been up all day, he was probably tired. Sora was probably tired too because there seemed to be more than sleepiness under Riku’s gaze.

"Remember that theory you had about there being hidden messages? She thought so, too." Sora propped himself up on his arms. Riku was resting his head on his palm. His eyes hadn’t left Sora. "She actually has a video analysis of messages hidden in the game. Do you want to watch those first?"

Sora waited for a reaction. There wasn’t one---not to his words. Riku started leaning forward, his lips parted. Sora did the same. Their lips touched. It was gentle at first and then firmer. They parted then touched again and then once more before they both pulled away. They stared at each other. There was no sound except for the hum of the laptop fan and the pounding of Sora’s heart. Should he go in for another one? This had never happened before.

“So,” Sora’s voice caught in his throat. Riku had said something too. It was low, but it sounded like ‘Sorry’. What would he be apologizing for? The kiss? They’d both done it. “It’s okay,” his voice soft. “I didn’t mind,” it was more a whisper to himself than to Riku.

“The Let’s Plays, right?” Riku gestured to the laptop.

Sora nodded and clicked a playlist.

It was weird that Radiant Garden was such a busy place. It was nothing like the Destiny Islands. Back home it was easy to remember everyone, to pass the same faces every day, but, aside from the frequent bus riders and his apartment neighbors, Sora had rarely seen the same face twice. How did that work? He often wondered out loud, didn’t city folk have routines?

Sora hadn’t been paying attention. Riku always warned him about paying attention in the city, but he hadn’t been and so his reward was a duck to the face. He lost his footing and fell flat onto the sidewalk. The duck squawked at him. It seemed angry.

“My bad!” A blond young man ran up to Sora and lifted him to his feet. “Are you okay?”

Sora nodded, not taking his eyes off the duck. It was funny; the more Sora stared at the duck, the angrier it seemed and the angrier it seemed, the more Sora loved it.

“Is that your duck?” Sora asked the young man.

“Not really,” he picked it up, “he’s in my care, but I’m trying to find a home for him.”

“A home?”

“He’s a domestic duck,” the blond thought for a moment, “that’s what the vet told us anyway. So, he wouldn’t survive in the wild.”

“I’ll take him!” The words fell out of Sora’s mouth before his brain could process them. “I mean if you want and not right now. I’m actually on my way to work.”

“Sure, give me your number and we’ll meet up when you get off.”

“Alright!” Sora grinned and handed his phone over.

“I’m Ventus by the way,” he handed his phone to Sora, “my friends call me Ven.”

“Sora.”

They returned each other’s phones. 

“Nice to meet you, Sora, I’ll see you after work.”

“Later, Ven!” Sora ran off to catch his bus.

It was dark when Sora got home. He walked through the door with a bag of supplies and a duck---all provided by Ven.

“Welcome home,” Kairi was sitting on the floor, looking at her laptop.

She had to sit on the floor though because outside of a few mattresses their apartment was unfurnished.

“Hey---”

The duck---which Sora had decided to call ‘Donald’---squawked and jumped out of Sora’s arms. It dashed into and around the apartment in a mixture of running and flying. Kairi screamed and jumped to her feet.

“Sora! What---”

“I adopted a duck!”

“Why would you---” She moved out of the way, avoiding Donald’s dive at her.

“I’m sorry! He has a temper!”

“Sora!”

Eventually, they convinced Donald to settle down in the corner with a blanket and some food. As Sora blew up an inflatable pool, Kairi scolded him about buying a wild duck from a stranger.

"I didn't buy him," Sora took a deep breath and blew into the pool. He took a breath. "And he's domestic."

"Fine," Kairi laughed, "you still should have let us know."

Sora nodded and agreed to tell them next time. Kairi helped set up the pool and put it on the porch. When they were done, they laid on the living room floor and looked at the ceiling. Sora looked at his phone. It was almost midnight.

"Shouldn't Riku be home by now?" Sora turned his head to look at Kairi.

"He was," Kairi sat up, "before you got here." She stretched, "His boss called him in. She said she needed him immediately."

Sora frowned. He'd been home for hours. "That sucks." He sat up, "want to play cards?"

"Sure!"

They played for a while. They joked and laughed as they talked about their days. Kairi had continued her job search. She’d ended her search at the mall before returning home. Apparently, there were a lot of interesting characters at the mall. One of them was a film student named Xion who Kairi swore looked just like her. She hadn’t taken a picture though. Sora told her about Ven.

The front door opened. Riku walked in, “You two are still awake?”

Kairi stood up. “How was work? What was the emergency?”

“She received a bunch of mock-up book covers and wanted me to help choose the best ones.”

“Couldn’t it have waited until morning?” Sora frowned.

“The industry doesn’t sleep and neither does she,” Riku stretched. “I, however, am going to bed.”

“Yea,” Kairi bent down to pick up the cards, “we should probably do the same.”

Riku said his ‘good nights’ and then went to his room. Kairi was the next to go. Sora checked on Donald and then made his way to bed. He fell asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm genuinely not sure how to tag this, so I'm open to suggestions...


	2. Manuscript

Riku always felt out of place at photoshoots. He never did anything, but watch anyway. This photoshoot was being held for two reasons. The first was a book cover for the next novel in Dark Fairy Press's most popular fantasy-romance series. The second was to advertise the novel across various forms of media. Riku wasn't involved in the final selection for the cover, the ads, or the actual photoshoot. In fact, the only reason Riku was there was because he was Madam Maleficent's assistant. She hadn't even shown up yet.

He couldn't blame her for taking her time; there was rarely anything for her to do until the end of the shoot. At the moment, Riku was standing to the side of the makeup stand. He watched the door, waiting for his boss to arrive. The only person he knew here was one of the models, Vanitas. And they'd only ever spoken a handful of words to each other. Vanitas was spinning around in one of the make-up chairs. Riku couldn't think of anything to say to him, so he turned his attention back to the door.

"You can take a seat. I'll be with you in a moment."

It took a second for Riku to realize those words were directed at him. He turned his attention to the make-up artist, who was now working on Vanitas. He was tall---ridiculously tall--- and his bright, wild red hair was pulled into a loose ponytail.

"I'm not one of the models."

"Really?" He looked down at Vanitas for confirmation.

"He's Maleficent's assistant. She drags him to all the photoshoots."

"Well, have you ever considered being a model?" The make-up artist turned his attention back to Riku.

"No," Riku rubbed his arm. "I probably wouldn't be any good at it anyway."

"What a waste! You and Vanitas would make a great pair." He motioned excitedly, "I can already imagine it."

Riku looked from him to Vanitas. He was missing something here.

Vanitas caught Riku's gaze. "Lea runs an indie magazine. They do themed photoshoots every month."

"If you ever need a little extra cash give me a call," Lea winked and handed Riku his business card. "I'll make a model out of you."

"Right," Riku examined the card. It was clean and professional, but also pretty and energetic.

"Riku," Madam Maleficent approached, "have you read those manuscripts?"

Riku shoved the business card in his pocket. "Yes, I wrote you a quick review of each."

"Excellent." She stood next to him.

"Actually Madam Maleficent, did you ever get a chance to read my manuscript?"

"I skimmed it."

"And?"

"You still have much to learn."

"I see."

Riku didn't bother asking for specifics, she rarely gave him specifics these days. He'd been her assistant for over a year now, ever since he'd won a short story competition run by Dark Fairy Press. She'd offered him a job on the spot. After this long, she expected him to know her well enough to read her mind.

"You still have much to learn." He turned those words in his head for a long time and, knowing all he did about her, the only thing she could have meant was "Your manuscript was terrible and any talent you displayed in that contest was obviously a fluke."

Riku laid in his mattress with his arm over his face. He was never going to get published!

"Riku!" Kairi slammed his door open, "Why was this in the trash?" She held up his manuscript.

"Because it belongs there."

Kairi growled. "Get up!"

"No."

Kairi grabbed his leg and pulled him off the mattress. "So she read it---"

"She skimmed it. It wasn't good enough for a read."

"Is that what she said?"

"That's what she meant."

"Riku…" Kairi crouched down. "You're a good writer."

Riku groaned in response.

"You are! That's the reason Madam Maleficent swept you away from the Destiny Islands and brought you here!"

Riku didn't respond.

"I've read it."

Riku popped up, red-faced. "What? You weren't supposed to---"

"I know, but I did and it's good."

"It is?"

"It is. Sure it's a little rough, but it's just your first draft. There's nothing in there that can't be fixed. So clean it up and give it to her again."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Riku nodded and retrieved his manuscript from her. "Thanks."

Kairi smiled, "Of course." She stood up. "I know what will cheer you up! Let's get something to eat."

"I guess I'm paying."

Kairi stuck out her tongue. "It'll be worth it."

"Fine, where are we going?"

"Skates & Stakes."

Skates & Stakes was were Sora worked. Riku and Kairi sat in his section. He skated up and went red-faced when he saw them.

"You two,” he covered his face, but that wasn't where either of them were looking.

The Skates & Stake uniform consisted of a pair of skates, a long-sleeved white button-up, a red vest, a black bow tie, and the world's shortest black shorts. Sora never left home or returned home in his uniform, so this was Riku's first time seeing it. Kairi had seen the uniform before, but never on Sora.

"Aren't you going to take our orders?" Riku leaned forward.

Sora removed his hands, glaring at Riku. It took him a moment to get into character.

"Hello, I'm Sora, I'll be your server today." He smiled, "What would you like to order?"

"What would you recommend?" Riku smirked.

"The stake."

"Why's that?" Kairi leaned on her hand.

"It's the house special."

"Well, we're vegetarians," Riku mimicked Kairi's position.

"Is that right?" Sora clenched his teeth.

"Yup," Kairi laughed.

"I'll bring you two the vegetarian menu." He skated away.

"Wow," Riku's eyes followed him.

Kairi kicked him. "Don't ogle our waiter," she scolded playfully.

"Sorry, sorry."

"I got an interview."

"Really? That's great!" Riku grinned. "I'll treat you to dessert!"

"I didn't even get hired yet."

"Regardless, you deserve a treat."

After dinner, they waited for Sora to get off his shift. Sora came out in his normal clothes.

"How long have you two been vegetarians?" He glared at them. They both laughed. "You two are the worst!" He shoved Riku.

Riku laughed and put an arm around him. "Let me buy you dinner."

"I already ate," Sora crossed his arms. "Buy me ice cream!"

"Okay! Okay!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post 3 times a week, so we get a chapter from all three perspectives each week.


	3. Mall

Kairi’s job search always led her back to the mall. That day she’d come for an interview at a clothing store, but she was sure she hadn’t gotten the job. The store was apparently very high fashion and Kairi couldn’t say she fit the image. She’d come dressed professionally and all, but all the other people interviewing were dressed to dazzle. Kairi didn’t look a thing like them. Then the actual interview was dreadful. The interviewer asked questions about current fashions and Kairi’s personal style. They asked about brands she’d like and how she’d help customers bring their looks together. She left feeling under-qualified. The only thing she could do now was keep applying for jobs.

“Kairi!” Xion waved at her from behind a stand. Kairi often saw Xion when she visited the mall. Xion ran an accessory stand. Today there was a tired-looking blond leaning on the stand. He watched as Kairi approached. “See,” Xion motioned to Kairi, “she’s my face triplet and my camera twin.”

“Hey,” Kairi waved.

“Hi, Kairi!” Xion leaned forward and grinned, “this is Roxas! Roxas this is Kairi.”

“Hey,” Roxas gave her a small wave.

“So, how’s the job hunt?” Xion brought her attention to Kairi; Roxas did the same.

“I interviewed at that fancy clothing store with the difficult name,” Kairi rubbed her arm. “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t a match.”

“Don’t get down! You’ll find something soon!” Xion leaned on the stand.

“Yea…” Kairi looked down. This was agonizing. She couldn’t just keep depending on Sora and Riku forever, right? She definitely didn’t want to. She wanted to contribute. 

“Let me treat you to something!” Xion reached into her pocket, pulled out a few bills, and handed them to Roxas. “Roxas, treat Kairi to something for me.”

“Will do,” Roxas stood up. “How do you feel about Sea Salt Ice Cream?”

Kairi hadn’t ever had Sea Salt Ice Cream before, but it was pretty good.

“You don’t have to walk me all the way home,” Kairi finished up her ice cream and examined the stick. "You'll miss the bus back."

“Xion would get mad if I didn’t.” Roxas had finished a while ago and was now bouncing his stick up and down in his mouth. “So you’re a photographer?”

“Yea,” Kairi touched her camera. She and Xion had the same camera, which was the reason Xion had initially approached her.

“Have you met any other photographers yet?”

“No, I’ve been pretty busy.”

“Want to come to one of our photoshoots?”

Kairi raised an eyebrow.

“Xion, our friend, Axel, and I run an indie magazine and we do monthly photo shoots with local photographers. It might be a good way for you to get involved in Radiant Garden’s photography community.”

“And you’re just inviting a random stranger?”

“You’re not a random stranger, you’re Xion’s face triplet and her camera twin.” He was quiet for a moment. “Besides it’s hard to get into the art community when you’re new and not taking college courses. I’d never have met anyone if it wasn’t for Axel.”

“Are you a photographer?” They arrived in front of her apartment complex.

“I’m a Graphic Designer, but I think the same concept applies.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Alright,” Roxas handed her his business card. “Let me know.” He waved and headed back in the direction of the bus stop.

“Was that Ven?” Sora appeared in the entryway, holding Donald.

“Roxas, actually.” Kairi turned his business card in her fingers. “He’s Xion’s friend.”

“Cool! How was your interview?”

Kairi frowned.

“You’ll get the next one,” Sora patted her head.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you’ll get the one after that.”

Kairi smiled. “Thanks, Sora.”

“Want to join us on our walk?”

“Sure.” 

After her talk with Sora, Kairi was determined to find a job! She often left the apartment early, around the same time as Riku, so she could get to the mall and start applying. It became routine for them to grab breakfast at a nearby bakery before Riku walked Kairi to the bus stop. He even waited with her for her bus to arrive. 

During that time they talked about lots of things, the things Kairi and Sora had been up to during the year Riku had moved to Radiant Garden, work, personal projects, and Sora--- they talked about Sora a lot.

"I've been working on my manuscript," Riku stopped at the bus stop.

"You have?" Kairi smiled. "How's it going?"

"I'm almost done with it." Riku shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "I really like the way it's turning out."

"Can I read it?"

Riku was quiet for a long time. The bus pulled up.

"Alright," Kairi took her bag from him, "I'll see you later."

He stopped her before she got on. "You can read it."

Kairi's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yea."

Kairi got on the bus with a warm feeling inside. Riku didn't even let Sora read his manuscript. He really only let them read his short stories, which he had much more confidence in. So she was really happy he felt safe enough to share with her. She couldn't wait to read it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really live for Riku and Kairi's friendship.


	4. Fired

Sora had been completely switched to the night shift. By the time he woke, Kairi and Riku were usually gone. Riku got home about an hour before Sora had to leave, but Kairi didn't get back until after he left, so they rarely saw each other during the workweek.

Sora was helping Riku wash dishes.

"You should head out," Riku rinsed a dish and handed it to Sora to dry. "I don't want you to miss your bus."

"There's lots of time before my bus comes."

"Maybe, but you always dawdle."

"If you're so worried, you should walk to me there."

"You know I'm not leaving after I already got out of my work clothes."

"Unless your boss calls."

"If you want to pay me to walk you to the bus, I'll consider it."

"I doubt I could afford your rates."

Riku smiled. "Maybe I'll give you a discount."

Sora's alarm went off. He snoozed it. "Now, I have to leave."

"Hand me the towel."

"Yea," as Sora placed the towel in Riku's hands he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Riku's. He didn't process what he'd done until Riku pulled him into a deeper kiss. There were too many thoughts clogging up his brain for him to think about anything. He just found himself lost in the taste of his lips. His alarm went off. They're pulled away. Sora could feel his face heating up, "I need to catch the bus!"

Riku nodded.

Sora dashed out. 

He didn't allow himself to think until he was at the bus stop. To recap, he had now kissed his best friend Riku who he had no romantic feelings for twice and kissed his best friend Kairi who he wanted to date a total of zero times. What was going on? He hadn't figured it out by the time he got to work, but work was a welcome distraction.

"Hey, Sora!" Olette skated by, "how are you today?"

"Hmm," Sora thought for a moment. As confusing as it was, that kiss wasn't a bad thing, right? "It's been good. You?"

"Also, good," she smiled.

One good thing about the late shift was meeting Olette. She'd been working at Skates and Stakes since her freshman year of high school and, like Sora, was a recent high school graduate. Their sections were right next to each other, so they saw each other a lot. Olette was probably the best roller skater Sora had ever seen. She moved on skates as easily as she walked. Sora sometimes watched her to try and decipher how she did it, but he hadn't quite been able to pull off any of her moves.

Olette passed through Sora's section on the way to the kitchen. She was almost there when a customer groped her. She almost fell. The customer laughed and made a joke. Olette put on a smile and tried to continue to the kitchen, but he kept talking to her.

"Hey," Sora arrived at the table, placing himself between Olette and the customer, "you need to apologize to Olette!"

"For what?" The customer looked at Sora, "I'm just talking to her."

Sora clenched his teeth. "I'm pretty sure you touched her inappropriately."

"Maybe you were seeing things."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Apologize."

Olette put a hand on Sora's shoulder, "It's okay." She was trembling.

"See, she's not complaining." The customer glared. "Maybe you should just do your job."

Sora didn't move.

"Is there a problem here?" The manager approached.

"Your employee is harassing me."

"He's the one harassing Olette!"

"She said it was fine."

The manager turned to Olette, "Is this true?"

"Well...I did say it was okay, but---"

"You heard it from her, Sora. Apologize to our customer."

"No."

"Excuse me?" The manager narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not apologizing to that creep!"

"Let me make it a bit more clear for you. You will apologize or you will be terminated."

" Fine." Sora turned to Olette, "I hope we can still be friends."

"Of course!"

Sora headed towards the changing room.

"Where are you going?" The manager called after him.

"Home. I hope you don't expect me to stay until the end of the shift when I just got fired."

Sora paced around the bus stop. He wanted to go home and have Riku comfort him, but after the kiss, it might send a weird message. Even if it didn't, what if they kissed again? Sora touched his lips. If they kissed again it would probably be fun. Sora shook that thought out of his head. What was he thinking?

"Sora!" Ven waved as he approached. He had a black dog with him.

"Hi, Ven, I haven't seen you around in a while."

"I don't live in the area," Ven smiled, "how are things with Donald?"

"He finally stopped attacking anyone who walks through the front door."

"That's good!"

"Is this your dog?"

"Not really. He's a stray."

"Do you go around looking for strays?"

"No," Ven frowned, "this guy, Vanitas, does, but his apartment doesn't allow pets, so they always end up at my house."

Sora looked at the dog. He loved it already. "I'll take him!"

"Really?"

"I think him and Donald will get along!"

"Alright," Ven handed the leash to him. "Let me treat you to dinner as thanks."

"Okay," Sora smiled.

Sora walked towards the apartment with Goofy ---he decided to name the dog--- trailing behind him. Dinner with Ven was a nice breather, but now he had to tell Kairi and Riku he was fired. He wasn't sure what to say.

"There you are!" Kairi leaned over the stair rail, "Where have you been?"

Before the question could strike him as odd ---this was the time he usually got home--- Sora spotted Olette. She approached the rail moments after Kairi.

"I ran into Ven!" Sora made his way up the stairs. "We have a dog now."

Kairi laughed. "Donald's going to get jealous."

"How could he not love this guy?" Sora lifted Goofy as he made it to the top of the stairs.

Kairi smiled and made her way to them. She petted Goofy and kissed his head. Sora brought his attention to Olette. He smiled at her.

"I tried talking to the manager," Olette frowned, "he's too stubborn to take you back."

"Thanks for trying," Sora shrugged and smiled. "I'll be alright.

"Tell me if you need help with anything."

Sora agreed he would. They walked Olette to the bus stop.

"We're in the same boat now," Kairi walked beside him.

"Yea…"

"Don't worry," she leaned on him, "you'll get the next one."

"Thanks," Sora smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the way time passes in this story isn't confusing. Events aren't always back to back, a lot of time can pass between chapters...


	5. Retired

“Did she read it yet?” Kairi and Riku were standing at the bus stop.

Riku shrugged. “I’m going to ask her about it.”

“Good,” Kairi nodded. “And if she doesn't like it this time, ask her for specific criticism.”

“Right.”

“I’m serious,” Kairi nudged him.

“Alright, alright.”

Kairi’s bus pulled up. She waved at him as she climbed on. 

Riku walked to the subway. His job was only a couple of stops away. Madam Maleficent’s house was only one stop away from that. When he’d first moved to Radiant Garden, he lived with her which made all the late-night calls easy to handle. Back then, the only times he left her house were for work or to get things for her. When Sora had insisted on coming to live with Riku was when he decided to move out. That’s also when he realized that in the year he’d lived in Radiant Garden the only things he’d bought for himself were clothes and books. If he’d been thinking about the future at all he’d bought at least some furniture but because he hadn’t their apartment was very empty.

“Excuse me,” for a split second Riku thought the girl was Kairi, but quickly realized she wasn’t. She was blonde and wore all white. “Do you know where Dark Fairy Press is?”

“Next stop.”

“Are you heading there too?”

Riku nodded.

She stood next to Riku until they got to the stop and then followed him off. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be guiding her or if they were just going in the same direction.

“Are you a writer?” Riku looked at her.

“No, I was hired to draw a cover for---”

“ _ The Falling Star _ ,” Riku stopped, “You’re Namine?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

She was a lot younger than he’d expected her to be. He noticed the file she was holding to her chest.

“Are those the designs?”

She nodded and handed the file to Riku, “This is my first time doing a book cover. My friend, Roxas, helped me make mock-ups.”

Riku looked at them. They’d definitely picked the right person for this. She’d really captured the essence of the book. “You have a meeting with Madam Maleficent in twenty minutes, correct?”

She nodded.

“Alright,” Riku motioned forward, “Follow me.”

In his time working for Dark Fairy Press, Riku had found many shortcuts. He took a few to get Namine to her meeting on time. The meeting wasn’t very long. The author loved all of the designs, so Madam Maleficent made the final choice.

When they filed out, Riku took the folder to Madam Maleficent’s desk. His manuscript was sitting in the middle. Riku took a breath. She’d read it. Maleficent noticed his gaze.

“It isn’t there yet.”

“Oh.” Riku turned away from it. He remembered Kairi’s words. “Why?”

“Your inability to tell is the reason you’re not ready.”

“Could you give me something more specific?”

“How will you learn if I just hand you the answer?”

Riku frowned. That made sense in a way, but her refusal to ever give concrete criticism was starting to feel like---like--- Riku clenched his fist. “You don’t want me to get published.”

“Of course I want you to get published,” she approached him, “I just want your debut to be perfect and this,” she gestured to the manuscript, “is far from perfect.”

“Sorry, I just need some direction.” He released his hand.

“And that will come.”

“Maybe I should submit it to a few different publishers.” Riku crossed his arms. That would give him a chance to get more feedback.

“That’s impossible, I’m afraid.”

“Why?”

“You’ve already submitted here and we have the right of first refusal.”

“I didn’t submit---”

“Of course you did. Did you think I was reading it for fun?”

“I-what am I supposed to do then?”

“Be patient. Your time will come. Until then stay under my tutelage.”

It was a trap. She was never going to approve of his manuscript. She just wanted him to stay dependant on her forever. She just wanted him to be her assistant forever. Riku clenched his fist.

“I quit.”

“That’s not a good idea, is it? Your manuscript---”

“I don’t care. I’ll write a new story.”

“And how will you survive until it’s finished? Don’t you have a boyfriend to support? Didn’t he just lose his job?”

“I’ll figure it out.” He marched towards the door.

“Alright, you can have the day off to cool down, but I expect you back in the morning.”

Riku shut the door behind him as he walked into his apartment. When he’d walked out of Dark Fairy Press, he’d been so sure of his decision, but now that he was home the fear was sinking in. What was he supposed to do? His income paid the rent! And it wasn’t like Sora could just pick up his portion now that he wasn’t working anymore.

“You're home early,” Sora walked in. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Sora ran up and grabbed his hands. “You're shaking.”

Riku threw his arms around Sora. “I’m sorry. I was selfish.”

“Riku,” Sora stroke his hair, “what happened?”

Riku told Sora about his argument and how he’d quit. “I’ll go back in the morning and---”

Sora put his finger to Riku’s mouth. “No, you won’t.”

“But---”

“I went to an interview today and got a new job at the mall,” Sora sat down, pulling Riku down with him. “We’re going to be okay, so don’t go back unless you want to, okay?”

“I have to be there for you two.”

“And you will be,” Sora cupped his face, “but for now let me support you, okay?”

Riku nodded.

“I’ll let Kairi know what happened,” Sora stood up, “go take a nap.”

“Okay,” Riku went to his room. 

Riku woke up to the sound of Kairi and Sora talking. Kairi sounded angry. Riku took a breath. He got out of bed and made his way to the living room.

“Hey,” he waved at the two.

“Riku,” Kairi marched up to him. “I cannot believe she did that to you! After all the things you’ve done for her!” Kairi pulled him into a hug. “It’s going to be okay, okay?”

“Okay.” He relaxed. “Thank you.”


	6. Hired

After months of searching, Kairi finally had a job. She was the newest photographer at the Phamily Photo. Sure she’d rather take pictures of buildings than people, but at least she’d gotten a job related to the work she wanted to do. Most people didn’t even have that. When her interview ended, she was hired on the spot. As she exited the Phamily Photo, she called Sora and told him the good news.

Now that she was finally working, maybe they could start saving up for some furniture. It was sad their apartment was so empty.

To congratulate Kairi, Sora and Riku had ordered take out. The three of them sat in a circle on the living room floor with all the food between them. Riku told the two that he’d been looking into freelance writing until he could find a new job. He seemed confident he’d be able to help out that way. After they talked about that, Kairi brought up their need of furniture.

"Yea, we can start saving up," Riku cracked open a fortune cookie. "We'll need to make a plan, but between the three of us we can work something out."

"I can't wait until we have a table," Kairi stretched. "Eating on the floor is fun and all, but I want my food to not be on the floor."

Sora grinned. "I'm so proud of you, Kairi!" He pulled her into a hug. Kairi put her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She listened to his steady heartbeat. It was warm in his arms. She felt safe. 

Riku got up and started to pick up the empty containers and the leftovers.

"Do you need any help?" Sora shifted.

"No," Riku disappeared into the kitchen, "it's fine."

Kairi readjusted herself, so she was in a comfortable position. She fell asleep on him.

Kairi hadn’t expected Sea Salt’s photoshoot to be so professional. Maybe that was bad to think, but she really hadn’t known what to expect. The location Roxas had sent her was some field in the middle of nowhere. She’d brought Sora and Riku along because it was in a field in the middle of nowhere and Roxas was a stranger. When they arrived a bunch was going on. Kairi wasn’t sure if she should just walk up.

“Kairi!” Xion ran up and hugged her. “You came!”

“Yea,” Kairi looked over Xion’s head. Her eyes followed people around the shoot.

Xion released her and took a step back and looked at the trio. “Whoa! I’m not the only one whose clone showed up today!” She waved. “Hi, I’m Xion.”

“I’m Sora and this is Riku!”

“Nice to meet you, Sora and Riku,” she grabbed Kairi’s hand, “come this way.”

As they followed Xion to the set, she explained that this month’s theme was “Magic Users”. They arrived at a plastic table where the photographer was setting up his camera.

“Pence,” Xion arrived at him, “this is Kairi. Kairi, this is Pence. You’re both photographers, play nice!”

While Kairi introduced herself to Pence, Xion dragged Sora and Riku elsewhere. Pence was friendly. They talked for a while about how Pence was going to use photo editing to bring in the magic for the shoot. Kairi talked about how she loved photographing landscapes and buildings. Pence told her she should get some pictures of the area before it was dark. Kairi took his advice.

“Kairi!” Sora found her as she finished up, “One of the models looks like me, someone on set looks like Riku, there’s a really pretty lady, and there's someone looks like you.”

“Someone besides Xion?”

“Yea, her name is Namine and she knows Riku.”

Kairi followed Sora back to the set. Riku was surrounded by Xion, Roxas, and Lea. He spotted Kairi and Sora and looked to them for help. Kairi stepped up.

“What’s going on?”

“Kairi! Tell Riku he’d be a great model!” Xion turned to her.

Kairi looked at Riku. He shook his head. “Oh, well, why do you think so?”

“He’s tall!” Xion gestured up and down, “And pretty!”

“He’s hot,” Roxas crossed his arms, “which he manages to pull off despite looking identical to Rep.” Roxas pointed to the left where there was a person who looked a lot like an angrier, smaller, Riku. He rolled his eyes at Roxas’s remark.

“He used to be a dancer,” Lea waved a hand at him, “and next month’s theme is ‘Dance’.”

“Ah,” Kairi looked at Riku with panic. What was she supposed to say? All of that was true. “I don’t think---”

“You’d be a great model,” Sora piped in.

Riku’s face flushed. He cleared his throat. “I’ll think about it.”

Xion cheered.

“Ooh,” Lea looked at Sora. “So, you’re the Riku whisperer.”

“We’ve been best friends since we were little.”

“Is that, right?”

Sora nodded.

“Well, if he models in our next shoot, I promise to make your boyfriend shine.”

It was Sora’s turn to blush. “Oh, he’s not---we’re not…”

“Hmm?”

“Not dating,” Sora looked away, but Kairi could swear she saw a smile.

“I see,” Lea nodded, “either way, we’d love to have him.”

“I’ll do my best,” Sora smiled.

When the shoot ended, Roxas invited them to dinner.

At dinner, Xion introduced Kairi to the models from the shoot. First was Namine, her face triplet and an artist. She was soft-spoken and sat with her sketchbook propped up on her lap. Then there was Vanitas, Sora’s face twin. “Sora if he was a ten,” was how Riku had once described Vanitas to them when he still worked at Dark Fairy Press. Kairi had laughed at the time, but she couldn’t deny that Riku’s description was pretty spot on. Vanitas fluctuated from being quiet and stoic to being mischievous. The last model was Professor Aqua MFA. She taught art and dance at Radiant Garden’s top Fine Arts University. She was the ‘really pretty lady’ Sora mentioned. ‘Really pretty’ didn’t do her justice.

“How do you three feel about pets?” Aqua smiled at them. She was a goddess!

“Love them!” Kairi and Sora were a bit too loud.

“Great!” Aqua pulled out her phone, “Do you want to see a stray dog we’ve been taking care of?”

They both did.

Aqua had several pictures of a light brown dog.

“It’s so cute!” Kairi couldn’t stop looking at it. “Can I have it?”

Riku gave her a look which she ignored.

“Sure!” Aqua smiled, “we’re taking him to get his shots tomorrow. You can tag along if you want.”

“Yes,” Kairi pushed her bangs behind her ear, “I will do that.”

Aqua gave Kairi her number. Kairi felt like she’d won a prize.

“By the way, you three are all creatives, right?”

“Yea, I’m a photographer, Riku’s a writer, and Sora’s an artist.”

“Then you three should come to our bimonthly creatives dinner,” she looked at Kairi, “I’ll send you the details.”

“Okay,” Kairi nodded, her face heating up.

“I look forward to seeing you there.”

“We’ll definitely be there,” Kairi nodded.

Riku slid his drink to Kairi. She rose an eyebrow at him.

“You looked thirsty,” he mouthed with the slyest of grins on his face. Kairi flushed. It wasn't like that. She was just admiring her! Kairi couldn’t think of a subtle way to flip him off, so she settled for sticking out her tongue. He was one to talk.

After dinner, they took the subway home.


	7. Pattern

Sora was bad at retail. He wasn’t bad at the job itself, he was bad at dealing with rude customers and there were just so many more than when he was a waiter. With a lot of determination, he could restrain himself when customers started acting ridiculous, but when it came to his coworkers he never could. For that reason, Sora had gone through seven retail jobs in a few months. He was once again jobless. He needed to get his act together if he intended on supporting Riku like he’d said he would. 

He sat on a park bench. He didn’t want to go home until he’d figured out what to say to Riku.

“Hi, Sora,” Namine took a seat next to him.

“Oh, hi!” Sora grinned. “What’s up?”

“Just taking a break.” She propped up her notepad.

“Oh, yea, you draw people in the park for money, right?”

“Yup,” she stretched.

“Does that work well? Moneywise I mean.”

“I make a decent amount.” Namine looked up and then back at Sora. “Are you thinking about freelancing?”

“I don’t know,” Sora tugged on his pant leg, “drawing has always been more of a hobby to me and I only really draw animals.”

“Well, I’m always around if you need any advice.”

“Thanks, Namine.” Sora smiled at her before heading home.

Sora opened the door to find Riku chasing around Pluto. Goofy appeared after a few moments soaking wet. Donald was running around in circles quaking. Riku tripped over him. Sora burst into laughter. Riku went completely red.

“Sora!” He sat up, “What are you doing home?”

“I got fired,” and before Riku could respond, “What are you doing?”

“Kairi asked me to bathe the dogs today.”

“Need some help?”

“Maybe a little.”

It took some time, a lot of time, but they managed to bathe and dry both dogs. Sora collapsed onto his mattress. Riku plopped down next to him. They could hear the dogs playing with Donald in the other room. Sora looked over at Riku. The way the light from the window hit him, it lit up his eyes; he looked really pretty. Riku noticed Sora’s gaze and looked at him.

“Hey,” Riku turned on his side.

“Hey,” Sora’s voice was soft. He turned to his side. Their hands brushed against each other. Sora’s heart started pounding. Sora closed his eyes and parted his lips. It was an invitation, which Riku accepted.

Their lips touched. It was gentle, there was hesitation. The next kiss had a bit more confidence behind it. Their kiss deepened. Riku’s fingers locked into his hair. Their tongues made contact. Sora put his arms around Riku. He was wearing a crop top, so Sora was touching his skin. It was smooth and soft and warm. Sora trailed his fingers down his back. A shaky gasp escaped Riku's lips. 

Sora rolled on top of him, his legs on either side of him. He looked down at Riku. His hair was fanned out across the mattress. He was looking up at him, his eyes were so bright. He was so pretty! Sora interlaced their fingers and leaned in for another kiss. He moved his hands. He used one to prop himself up and the other to run his fingers down Riku’s side. Riku used his hands to pull Sora closer and closer until their chests were pressed against each other. He could feel Riku's heart pounding against his chest. When Sora pulled away, he rolled onto his back, panting.

Riku didn’t say anything for a long time.

“Three times is a pattern,” Riku sat up.

“Huh?”

“Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.”

Sora sat up. “What does that mean?”

“You tell me what it means.”

Sora bit his lip. It had to mean something, right?

He thought for a long time. “Well, I really missed you when you were gone and you really missed me, right?”

“Right.”

“So maybe kissing is the way we expressed it.”

“You think so?”

“Yea, and after that,” Sora could still feel Riku’s hands on him. He wanted to lean in for another one. He took a breath, “we probably got it out of our systems.”

Riku was quiet. He was probably thinking about the absolute nonsense that’d just left Sora’s mouth. That obviously wasn’t what was going on. Sora hadn’t quite figured out what  _ was _ happening, but he wasn’t going to while Riku’s pretty face was looking at him.

“Alright,” Riku nodded. “So it’s out of our systems?”

He bought that?

“Yea,” Sora looked away.

“Okay.” Riku stood up, “I have some freelance work to finish, so I’ll be in my room.”

“Okay,” Sora waited for Riku to exit before falling back onto his mattress. “What is going on?”

Sora woke up to Kairi poking his face. It was dark outside. She had a plate balanced on her knees. She was still in her work uniform.

“How are you feeling?” Kairi’s voice was gentle. “Riku told me what happened?”

Sora’s face went hot. “He did?”

“Yea,” she frowned. “Maybe retail just isn’t for you. And don’t feel too bad. Riku’s been bringing in a pretty decent amount through his freelance work.”

“Oh!” Sora sat up, “he told you about me being fired.”

“What else?” She tilted her head.

Sora stared at her. If there was anyone he could talk to about this confusion it was Kairi. She always had her head on straight… Still, he wasn’t exactly sure how to talk about it yet. He and Riku had kissed, more than once, and he wanted to do it more. He didn’t think he felt any different about Riku than he had and he knew he felt differently about Riku than he did about Kairi, but then what was he feeling?

“Sora?”

“I’m thinking about trying the whole freelance thing.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, but he still felt bad for saying it. “Namine said she’d help me out.”

“That’s good,” she smiled. “Do your best okay!”


	8. Procrastination

Riku was on his laptop and Kairi was on hers. He had to tell her, right? About the kissing? It was only fair, right? Kairi had her eyes on Sora since high school. She needed to know. Riku would want to know if something was going on between Kairi and Sora. A part of him wondered if it was even necessary though. He knew if it came down to it, Sora would choose Kairi in a heartbeat. Plus, he’d said he’d gotten it out of his system, so it probably wouldn’t happen again. Riku hoped it would though.

“Riku! Kairi!” Sora came crashing into the apartment, “I made some money today!” He held a grocery bag up.

“Good job!” Kairi stood up, “What did you get?”

“Birdseed!”

Kairi and Riku stared at him.

Kairi laughed. “Good one, Sora. What did you really get?”

“Kairi, we both know he isn’t joking.”

“Why birdseed?” Kairi threw her hands up.

“Well,  _ we _ still have food, but we don’t have anything left for Donald.”

Riku shook his head, but couldn’t hide his smile. “It’s fine, I get paid in a couple of days, so we just have to last until then.”

“Alright,” Kairi trudged to the kitchen. “I will ration everything.”

“You know,” Riku pressed a few keys, “If push comes to shove we can always eat Donald.”

Donald squawked and started pecking at Riku. Riku just kept typing.

“No, we can’t!” Sora stomped on Riku’s back and picked up Donald. “It’s okay, he was joking!”

It took a bit, but Donald calmed down.

“Rikuuuu,” Sora sat down next to him, “apologize to Donald or he’ll be snippy all day.”

Riku looked up from his work. “I won’t--” Sora glared at him, “fine, sorry.”

“See, he’s sorry.”

Donald gave Riku a dirty look but waddled off.

“What are you working on?” Sora leaned on him.

“Checking a shampoo ad for errors.”

“When are you going to start working on your next book?”

Riku was quiet.

“Alright!” Kairi walked in from the kitchen, “I’ve figured out how we can last the next couple of days with our limited supply of food!”

The trio gathered in the kitchen.

“For breakfast,” Kairi gestured to a jar of assorted nuts, “a handful of nuts. Then we drink lots of water throughout the day. For dinner, we split a pack of ramen. Don’t make those faces! It’s all we have!”

“Aw, man,” Sora sat on the floor.

“It’s going to be a long couple of days.” Riku sat down next to him. Kairi sighed and sat with them. 

After a few moments of wallowing, they made their pack of ramen. They sat in a circle and passed the bowl around. Riku scooped up a forkful. Sora leaned on him and he nearly dropped it. 

“Hey!”

“Can you believe it’s been a year since we moved in together?” Sora continued to lean on Riku.

Riku passed the bowl to Kairi.

“It’s been a year?” Riku looked at his phone for the date. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”

“Right!” Kairi passed the bowl to Sora. “We should do something to celebrate our anniversary.”

“Something cheap.” Riku retrieved the bowl from Sora.

“Something after you get paid,” Kairi smiled.

“Fine,” Riku thought for a moment, “after I get paid we’ll go out to eat or something.”

Sora and Kairi both cheered.

Riku was finished with all his freelance work for the week. Now he had no excuse not to work on his personal projects. He opened his writing folder. There were several books he’d planned and started writing, but only his short stories were actually finished. 

He opened up a document.

He stared at the words on the screen.

He opened up his plans.

He stared at the screen.

He read through everything.

He made it to the bottom of the document.

He opened the internet.

He looked at the mood boards he’d made for his ideas.

He checked the time. It’s been over an hour and he hadn’t gotten anything done. He closed his laptop. He got some water. He opened his laptop. He checked his bank account. He opened the documents back up.

More time passed.

“Riku! Guess what?” Sora threw the door open.

Riku shut his laptop. “You’re home early.”

“Yea!” Sora dropped a bag from Patty’s Burgers on the table, “Ven’s treating us to lunch! That’s for you,” Sora nudged the bag at Riku. Sora plopped down next to him and sat Donald down. “Were you writing?”

“How was the park?”

“No bites,” Sora laid down. “Oh,” he sat back up, “I made a Kingstagram!” He showed Riku his phone. There was only one picture on his account, so far. It was him and Ven at Patty’s.

“You're going to post art here?”

“And other stuff.” Sora leaned on him, “You should make an account too.”

“I don't really do anything photo-worthy.” Riku opened the bag and started eating. Sora took a handful of Riku's fries. “Didn't you already eat?”

“You never finish your fries anyway.”

“Yea, yea,” Riku nudged him.

It was quiet. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable either. It'd been like that recently. 

“You can have the rest,” Riku handed Sora his burger, “I'm not that hungry.”

“You sure?”

Riku nodded.

Sora ate the rest in a few large bites. Riku took a napkin from the bag. He wiped the crumbs off Sora's face.

Riku sat up straight. “Thanks for the food.”

“Yea, I mean, you should really thank Ven!”

“Right.” Riku looked down.

Sora cupped Riku's face and lifted so they were face to face. Sora leaned in closer. “One last time?”

Riku felt his face heating up. He nodded. Sora tilted his head back then brought their lips together. It ended too quickly. Both their faces were tinged with red.

“One more,” Riku tried not to sound as desperate as he felt.

Sora pulled him back in. Their lips parted. “I should head back out.”

“Yea, I should get back to writing.”

Neither of them moved.

They kissed again and again. Riku found himself under Sora, whose legs were on either side of him.

“Hey,” he smiled down at him.

“Hey,” Riku laughed.

“You know,” Sora brought his mouth close to Riku's ear. “You're really pretty.”

“Yea right,” Riku shoved him. Sora rolled onto his back laughing. Riku's face was red and he was burning up.

Sora rolled onto his side to look at Riku. Riku did the same.

“What's going on?” Sora's voice was quiet and sincere. He reached out to Riku but hesitated.

Riku brushed Sora's face with his fingers. He didn't actually know how to respond. He wasn't sure what they were doing either.


	9. Paid

To celebrate a year of living together, the three of them went to eat at Skates and Stakes. They hadn’t eaten there since Sora was fired, but Kairi missed the shelled pasta. It was really good! Sora was excited to go too since he hadn’t seen his friend Olette in a while. They were seated in her section. Before they ordered, Riku reminded them that they were on a budget.

“Yea, yea,” they both replied.

Riku shook his head.

Dinner was nice, they stayed within budget, Olette was super nice and pretty, and the food was better than she’d remembered. Olette had told them there’d been a change in management. Everything was perfect. There was one thing bothering her though. It wasn’t even really a thing, it was a hunch. Kairi didn't want to accuse anyone of anything without concrete evidence, but she was nearly one hundred percent sure that Riku and Sora were hiding something. It's not like they were acting particularly different. It was more like something had changed in their energy. She couldn’t even really pinpoint the energy. They didn’t seem mad at each other or anything.

“I'm going to walk Pluto,” Kairi stood up. Her body was sore and stiff from sitting on the hard cold floor. She couldn't wait until they saved up to get a couch, or a table, or some chairs.

“I'll come too,” Sora jumped up, “I need to walk Goofy and Donald!”

“I'll be here then,” Riku pressed a couple of keys on his laptop.

“And he used to call us lazy,” Kairi stuck out her tongue.

Riku returned the gesture.

“Homebody!” Kairi called behind her as she exited. Sora followed.

They walked to the dog park; Sora kept Donald in his arms as Pluto and Goofy ran around. Kairi took a seat at a nearby bench. Sora plopped down next to her. He was the same as usual: laughing, smiling, and finding joy in the smallest things.

“So,” Kairi looked at him. “What's going on with you and Riku?”

Sora's grip on Donald loosened just enough for Donald to attempt an escape. Sora caught him and held him firmly.

“Me and Riku?” Sora looked away.

“Yea, did something happen between you two?”

Sora nodded.

“Good or bad?”

Sora shrugged.

“Sora,” she gave him a stern look.

“Mostly good I think or maybe it's bad. I don't know.”

“What happened?”

“We…” Sora frowned. “A few times now, we've k---”

“Well, if it isn't two of my favorite people,” Lea leaned on the bench.

“Hey, Lea,” Kairi looked at him.

“I heard you three are strapped for cash.”

“Where'd you hear that?” Kairi crossed her arms.

“On the wind.”

“Right.”

“So, I've got a job offer for you and Riku,” Lea looked at Sora, “Sorry, you didn't make the cut.”

“That's okay.”

“What's the job?”

“For next month's issue, our subscribers want a Demon and Darkness themed spread and Riku got the top vote for featured model. I figured you could be our photographer, Kairi. Don't make that face, it's at a great location.”

That piqued Kairi’s interest enough to agree on the spot.

“What if Riku doesn't want to do it?” Kairi pictured Riku on the floor on his laptop completely devoid of interest.

“We could always try for Rep, I guess, but he won't be a fan of this one. So, you need to convince Riku, got it memorized?”

“Got it,” Kairi stood up.

“You're welcome to tag along, Sora, if you want.”

“Alright!” Sora grinned.

They walked home. It wasn't until they got back to the apartment that Kairi realized she still didn't know what was going on between those two. She'd have to ask again later.

With Riku’s pay for his copy-editing and Lea’s upfront pay for the photoshoot, it was time to buy groceries. They wrote a list and split it into three. Kairi finished pretty quickly. As she walked to the front of the store, a table and chair set caught her eyes. It was small enough for their apartment. The wood had seashells carved into it. Kairi frowned. It was way too expensive though.

“Kairi, good morning!”

“Good morning, Professor Aqua.”

“You can just call me 'Aqua’.”

She literally could not do that.

Aqua looked at the table for a moment. “You know, recently Terra, Ven, and I started upcycling.”

“Upcycling?”

“You find an old piece of furniture and turn it into something new and beautiful. We find so much nifty stuff at the thrift shop.”

“Really?”

“Yea, you should join us sometime.”

“Yea sounds interesting.”

And they really needed furniture…

“Are you three coming to dinner this week?”

"Yea, we'll be there!"

Aqua smiled, "We look forward to catching up with you. I'll call you next time we're looking for a project to upcycle."

"I look forward to it," Kairi smiled. She waved at Aqua as she walked off.


	10. Comprehension

The photoshoot was at an old abandoned house on the outskirts of the city. Kairi was so excited that she started taking pictures as soon as they got out of Lea’s van. Lea and Xion dragged Riku off to prepare him for the shoot. Sora stood by the van, looking over Roxas’s shoulder. He was setting up the layout for the next issue. Sora liked watching Roxas at work. It was pure magic how quickly he turned a bunch of shapes, colors, and words into an actual page.

A loud hum cut through the silence. Moments later a motorcycle arrived with three people piled on it.

“You’re late,” Roxas didn’t even look up from his laptop.

“Your photoshoot is in the middle of nowhere,” Vanitas sat his helmet on the handlebars.

“Hi, Sora!” Namine waved.

“Hey!” Sora ran up to her and hugged her. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Namine laughed. “We just saw each other at the park last week.”

Rep climbed off the motorcycle. Rep offered his hand to Namine as soon as Sora loosened his grip. She accepted and climbed off the motorcycle. Sora’s eyes followed Rep. He really did look a lot like Riku.

“What?” Rep glared at Sora.

“Nothing,” Sora looked away. “So are you three helping with the shoot?”

“Vanitas is modeling,” Namine stood beside Sora. “I wanted to get some sketches of the house and Rep… tagged along.”

“Get to hair and makeup,” Roxas pointed Vanitas in the direction Lea and Xion had gone.

“Got it,” Vanitas rolled his eyes and headed off.

Roxas closed his laptop. “The rest of you can help set up.” He led them to the back of the van where all the equipment was. When everything was ready, Sora stood back to watch the shoot.

Riku looked amazing! Vanitas did too. Riku had only modeled a handful of times, but he was getting very comfortable in the role. Sora’s eyes focused on the way their fingers interlocked when they held hands. He was getting very comfortable with Vanitas too. It made sense. Of the handful of times, Riku had modeled, a majority of them were with Vanitas.

“You’re doing great,” Lea was behind Kairi. “Now make those romantic undertones into romantic overtones!”

Vanitas seemed to have a lot of fun with that direction. He got a thousand times more handsy and left a lot less space between them. Riku didn’t seem to mind either. He was pretty into it actually. Sora crossed his arms. There were a few times they looked like they were going to kiss. One time they did.

Sora’s jaw dropped.

Riku’s face went completely red. Vanitas pulled away.

It was quiet.

“Yuck,” Rep made a face. Namine elbowed him.

Lea applauded them.

The shoot ended shortly after that. When it was over, Kairi ran off to take more pictures of the house. Namine and Rep went with her. Roxas, Xion, Lea, and Vanitas went to the van to look at the pictures. Riku sat down in the makeshift dressing room. Sora approached him.

“You did great!” Sora leaned his arms on the back of Riku’s chair. Over his head, he could see Riku in the mirror.

“Yea?” Riku looked up at him.

“You looked really cool!”

Riku laughed. “You think so?”

“Yea,” Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s neck. 

Riku didn’t say anything, but Sora could see him blushing in the mirror. Was that all it took? He’d been in thousands of compromising positions with Vanitas and was completely unfazed, until the kiss. This was just a hug. Sora pulled him closer. It wasn’t like they hadn’t hugged before.

“Sora…”

“Hmm?”

Riku turned the chair, so they were facing each other. He tilted his head up but didn’t say anything. Sora ran a hand through Riku’s hair. He wanted to kiss him. Riku didn’t resist him as he leaned down. Their lips made contact. Sora felt a bit more aggressive than usual. There was a feeling in his chest; He wanted to wipe away Vanitas’s kiss. That wasn’t normal, was it? Riku’s kisses seemed more hesitant though.

Sora pulled away. “Are you okay?”

“Yea.”

“Riku,” Sora frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Does this mean anything to you?”

Sora stood up straight. “Of course, it means something!”

“What?”

Sora froze for a moment. He still didn’t have an exact answer. It was on the tip of his tongue though. Even if he couldn’t define it, he knew it was something special. He took a breath. “It means that these moments are something special, right? It’s not like this happens with everyone.”

“That’s true.”

“We can stop if you want.”

“No!” Riku covered his face, “I mean it’s nice, right?”

“Yea,” Sora kissed him on the cheek. “It is.”

“We should head back to the others,” Riku stood up.

They walked back together.

Job searching was the hardest part of having a job, but not working wasn’t really fair to Riku and Kairi. He wasn’t really much help around the house and he didn’t bring in much money freelancing, so he needed a job. If he could get an interview than a job was pretty much guaranteed. Sora had gotten every job he ever interviewed for. Kairi told him it was because he had a way of connecting with people. The problem was getting called in for an interview.

“Is that your resume?” Riku peaked over Sora’s shoulder.

Sora covered the screen. “Yea.”

Riku picked up the laptop. “Let me see.”

“Riku!”

Riku plopped down next to Sora and looked at the screen. He started reading it out loud.

“Riku-”

He shushed him.

Sora watched as he worked his way through it. He rested his head on his arms. When Riku was done reading through the whole thing, he started telling Sora the areas he needed to fix.

_ Oh, I’m in love with Riku. _

The thought didn’t hit him. It just crossed his mind and everything that had been confusing him lately made perfect sense. Actually, things he’d been feeling for a long time made sense too.

“Are you even listening?”

“What?” Sora blinked.

“Geez, this guy,” Riku sighed. “I said…”

So, what did it mean exactly that he was in love with Riku? He still had feelings for Kairi, right? He didn’t feel differently about her than he had before. Did he want a relationship with Riku? What would that be like? The thought of calling Riku his ‘boyfriend’ sent a light dancing across his heart, but would Riku even want that?

“Sora!” Riku frowned at him. “Could you pay attention?”

“Sorry,” Sora rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling. “I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“Stuff.” Before Riku could ask he continued, “When are you going to start writing again?” Sora rolled back onto his stomach. He was closer to Riku now.

“Don’t change the subject.”

Sora put his head in Riku’s lap. “What do I need to fix?”

“You need to update everything: your skills, your references, your last job---” Riku’s breath caught in his throat as Sora nuzzled his head against him. Sora looked up at him. His face was red. “Y-your last job ended a couple of months ago, so---” Sora nuzzled him again. “Just fix it okay?” His voice was soft.

“Will do,” Sora smiled up at him.

Riku stared at him for a moment. He ran his fingers through Sora’s hair. “You’re impossible,” He leaned down and kissed Sora’s forehead. 

Sora felt his whole face heat up. He sat up and threw his arms around Riku. They fell over.

“Ouch,” Riku flinched. “What are you doing?”

Sora didn’t respond. He just held him tighter. After a moment, Riku wrapped his arms around him. They stayed like that for a long time.


	11. Crush

Sora was at an interview and Kairi was at work, so Riku was home with the pets. It was a slow week; Riku didn’t have any jobs to do. In absence of work, Riku was writing---actually writing. It’d been a really long time since he was able to get anything down, so he’d decided to go back to pen and paper and it actually worked. Maybe it was that typing was so official feeling and so easy to change while pen and paper were just free-flowing. It wasn’t very good and it was pretty self-indulgent, but that’s what first drafts were for anyway.

Riku had just finished up a chapter when he heard knocking, not from the front door, but from the living room’s sliding doors. He approached and peeked through the blinds. It was Vanitas. He was standing on their porch. Riku opened the door.

“We’re on the third floor,” he wasn’t sure what answer he was expecting. Vanitas obviously knew they were on the third floor.

“Busy?” Vanitas rose an eyebrow at Riku, who’d been sitting around in his sweatpants and a crop top.

“No.” Riku tugged his top down like that would help cover anything.

“Thought so,” Vanitas stretched. “Get dressed, I have a job for you.”

Riku didn’t consider himself a pushover and Vanitas was nothing like Sora outside of a strangely close resemblance but, in the same way, Riku couldn’t really say no to Sora, he couldn’t refuse Vanitas. He hadn’t even asked what the job was. He only realized that as he finished getting dressed. Where was his brain? 

Riku stopped to fix his hair in the mirror. He froze. Why was he doing that? It was just Vanitas. There was nothing to get excited about. Their kiss flashed through his mind. Riku looked in the mirror again. His face was red. Great. If he knew himself at all the only reason for this behavior had to be that he had a crush on Vanitas. Riku bit his lip. Why? When had it happened? That hardly mattered. He just had to make sure Vanitas did not find out. Maybe he could get out of this.

“So what are we doing?” Riku exited his room.

Vanitas was propped up against the wall with Pluto sprawled across his lap and Goofy sitting next to him. It made sense, he was the one who’d initially found both strays. The thing that didn’t make sense was that he was holding and reading a stack of papers that could only be identified as Riku’s book. Riku ran over and snatched it. Vanitas looked up at him but otherwise had no reaction.

“Oh, you’re ready.” Vanitas stood up. “Let’s get going.”

Riku put his book away, got food and water out for the pets, and grabbed his laptop bag before heading out the front door. He followed Vanitas down the stairs. Wasn't he supposed to be trying to get out of this?

“So what are we doing?”

“The museum’s putting a new exhibit up in a couple of weeks,” Vanitas yawned. “We’re going to interview the featured artists and ask about their exhibit pieces and then you are going to write neat little summaries about each artist and piece.”

“You didn’t need to drag me along for that,” Riku frowned. He could have just emailed him the interviews.

Vanitas didn’t respond to that.

One by one they visited and interviewed each artist on Vanitas’s checklist. The interviews were being recorded, but Riku took notes while Vanitas asked questions. It was weird to see Vanitas do so much talking that wasn’t laced with taunting. By the time they were finished, the sun was setting.

“Want to get something to eat?” Vanitas gestured to a row of restaurants.

“Sure.”

They ended up getting shish kabobs. They made their way to the apartment while eating those. Vanitas began a trash-talking session, which Riku kept up with quite easily. He even got Vanitas to laugh. It was so cute. Riku couldn't keep his eyes off of him.

"Take a picture," Vanitas stuck out his tongue.

Riku looked away. "Like I'd want one!"

"I guess you'll just have to miss me then."

Riku rolled his eyes.

"I guess if push comes to shove, you can always dye your boyfriend's hair black."

Riku elbowed him. Vanitas laughed. They arrived at the apartment.

“I’ll need those by the end of the week.”

“Got it.”

“Here,” Vanitas handed a wad of money to Riku.

“What’s this?”

“Your pay.”

“I haven’t even started---”

“You should always get paid at least half up front, besides I dragged you around all day for no real reason.” Vanitas crossed his arms, “And you didn’t set up any terms for the job before we started, so I was in the perfect position to screw you over.”

“I wasn’t really doing anything anyway.”

“You were writing. You should value your time more.”

Riku could not believe he was being scolded by Vanitas! This was the guy who scaled a three-story building instead of ringing the doorbell.

“But you---why did you even come then? You could have just emailed me.”

Vanitas was quiet. 

“I hate doing stuff like that,” his voice was low, “Ven’s a lot more suited for that kind of thing, but the old man keeps making me do it anyway. It just helps to bring someone I don’t hate along.”

“Oh.” 

“Whatever,” Vanitas’s face had a tinge of blush. He started walking off. “Later!”

“Bye,” Riku waved. Don’t get your hopes up. He meant as a friend. Riku smiled on his way up the stairs. Either way, it was nice that Vanitas had opened up to him.

"Oh, wait!" Vanitas ran up after him, "how do you feel about mice?"

"I--- like in general or…?"

"As pets," Vanitas flashed his phone screen at Riku, "I have a couple that needs a home."

And of course, Riku couldn't say no.

When Riku entered their apartment, Kairi was sitting against the wall with Sora’s head resting on her lap, asleep. She was stroking his hair with one hand and holding a book in the other. Speaking of things he shouldn’t get his hopes up about…

Kairi looked up from her book. “Where’ve you been?”

“With Vanitas.”

“Oooh, like a date?”

“No, like for work.” Riku held up the new cage with a couple of mice in it, "and for mice."

“Oh.” Kairi frowned. “You never go on dates anymore.”

“You never go on dates either.”

“I’m not looking,” Kairi smiled down at Sora.

“Right.” Riku looked away. If he told her about kissing Sora now, it would just be petty. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Anything is fine.”

Riku put the mice in his room and then went to the kitchen. Kairi was certain that she and Sora would end up together. She had no reason not to think that. It was obvious that he was head over heels for her. Riku started on dinner. He was stirring the pasta sauce when Sora ran up to him.

“Riku!” He jumped at him and threw his arms around his neck.

“Sora! I’m cooking!”

Sora smiled up at him.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He stood on his toes and placed a kiss dangerously close to Riku’s mouth.

“Sora---”

The second kiss landed on his lips. Sora released him and ran off. Riku looked at Kairi. She was still reading.

What was that about? Riku went back to stirring. His heart was pounding. Was this okay? Riku knew more than anything, he’d never ‘get it out of his system.’ He liked Sora. He always had. The optimist in him wanted to believe Sora felt the same, that all these lip-locking sessions were proof of that, however, the pessimist disagreed. Riku might have always liked Sora, but Sora had always liked Kairi. What would have changed that?

Riku peeked at them. Sora was leaning on Kairi as she was reading. He waved at Riku. Riku looked away.

Nothing he could think of.


	12. Clingy

Kairi was outside the thrift shop with Pluto. She was supposed to meet Professor Aqua there. It was very early and a bit cold.

“Sora and Riku won’t be joining us?” Aqua approached her, followed by Terra and Ven.

“Sora’s at training for work and Riku has a job to finish, so he’ll come if he completes it.”

“So, Sora got the job,” Ven smiled. “I knew he would!”

Kairi nodded. “Me too!”

Aqua led Kairi into the store. Kairi had talked to Sora and Riku about which furniture was a priority and they’d all agreed on a table. If they wanted to sit around or lay down somewhere comfortable they all had mattresses, but eating on the floor was becoming a pain---especially with the pets walking around. 

There was a lot of furniture and besides some scratches, stains, or tears a bunch of it was in really good condition. There were a lot of tables and even more chairs, but there was one table that caught Kairi’s eyes. It was big, clunky, and worn out. There was a lopsided bench attached to it. It was the worst shade of green that she had ever laid eyes on. It was honestly a really ugly table. Riku would hate it and Sora would pretend not to hate it. She ran her hand across the surface. It was rough.

“I want this one,” Kairi announced.

“That one?” Aqua eyed it. “Are you sure?”

Kairi nodded. “I’m going to make it beautiful.”

“Alright then,” Aqua turned to Terra, “she wants this one.”

After Kairi paid for the table, Terra and Ven carried it to the truck. They told her they would keep the table in Terra’s workshop for her. That was where they were keeping all their current projects. Kairi thanked them. Aqua treated Kairi to ice cream as she told her about a bunch of KeyTube videos she needed to watch before starting her project.

When she got home, Riku was on the living room floor, writing. He had his headphones on. It was really good that he’d started writing again. For a while, she’d thought he’d never write another book. She walked up to him and crouched down. He looked up at her and removed his headphones.

“You didn’t come to the thrift store.”

“Sorry,” he sat up, “I only got home about thirty minutes ago, I figured you were already on your way back.”

That was fair.

“Want to grab lunch?” Kairi rested her arms on her knees.

“Sure…” Riku wasn’t looking directly at her.

“Is something wrong?”

“You probably won’t want to get lunch with me after I tell you.”

“You are literally the most dramatic person I know.”

“Remember when I told you I was over my crush on Sora?”

“Yes?”

“I thought I was being honest at the time, but I guess I wasn’t really over it.”

Kairi waited a moment. “So you still like Sora?”

Riku nodded.

“And when did you realize you still had feelings for him?”

Riku hesitated. “When he asked to move in with me.”

“Riku---”

“I thought I could handle it. I’m not---I wasn’t trying to step on your toes. I know how you feel about him.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t.

“It is?” Riku looked at her.

“I mean, in the words of Roxas ‘You like who you like’, right?”

“There’s something else, too,” Riku looked down.

“What?”

“We should talk about it once we’re all here.”

“Fine.” Kairi stood up. “I’m going to change.” She walked to her room and gently closed her door. 

Why was a feeling of dread rising in her stomach?

Riku liking Sora was irrelevant. For as long as she’d known Sora, everyone had told her she and Sora end up together. It just seemed obvious, but… 

Kairi shook her head. There were no 'buts', she knew Sora was fond of her… but Riku was always on his mind... Because they were best friends. There was nothing to worry about. Sora liked her and she liked Sora, right?

There was no competition. She didn't even have to try to win Sora's heart. She had it already. Except…

They'd had a whole year alone together after Riku had moved and nothing had happened. Why hadn't they got together? Everyone expected them to. 

Kairi bit her lip. 

The first time she and Sora had been all alone at his house in the middle of the night, she had expected something to happen. They were supposed to kiss or more, but nothing out of the usual happened and… It was such a relief. She had told herself then that she just didn't want to move too fast, but they didn't move at all that year.

Kairi dropped onto her mattress. Why hadn't they moved? They were supposed to, right? She put a pillow over her head. Maybe it was her fault… Maybe she wasn’t committed enough. Sora had been so patient and she wasn’t even trying.

She had to fix their relationship then. 

She came out of her room in her pajamas. Riku was still writing. She took a breath. It was fine. Nothing had changed. Riku wasn't trying to step on her toes and besides Sora liked her, right? If anything she felt bad for Riku. She could hardly imagine how it felt to have feelings for someone who didn’t like you back.

The front door swung open as Sora ran in. Riku sat up and waved at him.

“I’m home!” Sora picked Kairi up and spun her around before ending in a hug.

“Welcome home,” Kairi smiled at him, “how was work?”

“It was good! Everyone is super nice!” He released her and dived at Riku. 

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s neck. He was practically sitting in his lap. Don’t overanalyze. Sora was always pretty handsy with Riku... but recently he’d been all over him. Kairi bit her lip. She looked at them. Sora was looking at Riku with complete adoration like he’d never loved anything more in his entire life. Or wait… hadn't he always looked at Riku like that?

She looked at Riku. He was looking at her, guilt all over his face. 

Kairi frowned.

Of course, they seemed closer, they were literally always alone together, but now that Sora was working again it would be different. Sora and Kairi even worked near each other. She could walk to and from work with him. That’s right! All she needed to do was spend more time with him.

“Sora,” Kairi put on a smile, “come help me make dinner!”

“Okay,” Sora jumped up and made his way to her.

After that, Kairi did everything in her ability to spend as much time with Sora as possible. She was waiting for him to get off of work when Xion ran up to her.

“Hey, Kairi,” Xion hugged her, “you left work so fast, I didn’t even see you!”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Xion reached into her bag, “I just wanted to give you this.” She handed her a copy of Sea Salt. It was the issue she’d been the photographer for. “Roxas told me that you three probably aren’t subscribed, so you probably never saw the final issue.”

“Yea, we aren’t.” Kairi looked at it. Riku and Vanitas were on the cover. Why couldn’t Riku have fallen in love with Vanitas instead? Everything would be so much easier for him. “Sorry, we really should subscribe.”

“It’s okay if you don’t,” Xion smiled. “Just keep recommending us to people.”

“Will do.”

"So, like…" Xion fidgeted with her hands.

Kairi looked at her. She was so cute. "What's up?"

"The Radiant Garden Film Festival is accepting submissions right now." Xion looked down, "Roxas told me I should submit to it, but---"

"You have to submit!"

"I probably won't get in…"

"Xion!" Kairi took her hands, "You definitely won't get accepted if you don't submit."

"But there's so much I'm not good at and my films aren't very memorable."

"Enough! You're going to submit! If you don't I'll harass you forever! I'll give a speech at your wedding, your funeral, and every single birthday about how you didn't submit to the Radiant Garden Film Festival!"

Xion laughed. "Alright, alright, between you and Roxas I wouldn't be able to handle the stress."

"Alright," Kairi smiled, releasing her hands, "you better do it."

Sora came out of the restaurant. “I hope you didn’t wait long.”

“Not at all,” Kairi took his hand. Xion looked at their hands but didn’t comment on it.

“Oh, Xion,” Sora released her hand and pulled out his phone, “can I take a picture of you?”

“Sure! Why?”

“I’m putting pictures of all my friends on Kingstagram.”

“I didn’t know you had an account,” Xion got out her phone. “We should follow each other.” They exchanged accounts and then took a couple of pictures together. 

While they did that, Kairi looked up Sora’s account. It was mostly pictures of Riku. Sora was in some of them, but Kairi wondered if Riku was even aware of the amount of pictures Sora had taken of him. The pets had the second most amount of pictures. Then there were assorted pictures of his friends (Kairi was in some) and a few drawings scattered in.

Xion left after a few minutes; she had to get back to her stand.

“Let’s take a picture together,” Kairi grabbed Sora’s arm.

“Okay,” he smiled and pulled out his phone.

As he took the picture, Kairi stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Sora blushed. Kairi smiled. They walked home, fingers intertwined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... [If you're feeling kind of confused about what Kairi's going through and want a little insight...](https://tinyurl.com/na6zw79)  
I realized that some people might not be familiar with the concept. Be warned this is technically a spoiler. (I added this a couple of days after the chapter was posted)


	13. Intimate

"Hey, Sora," Kairi was on her laptop. "Do you want to go on a date sometime?"

Sora froze. A date? He'd always wanted to date Kairi, right? So where were the butterflies filling his stomach? The only feeling in his stomach was dread. He should have seen it coming really. They’d been spending so much time together recently.

"I'll think about it?"

"Was that a question?"

"I ---yes--- I just need a minute!"

"Okay." Kairi looked confused.

Sora ran out.

A week had gone by since he'd told Kairi he'd think about it. He should have jumped at the opportunity, but he needed to ask Riku about it. If he didn't, it felt like going behind his back. And he really wanted to ask, but he couldn't get the timing right. He and Riku actually hadn't been alone together since that day. Sora had to work and Riku had started going out more since he and Vanitas were working together. 

Sora walked into the apartment. He wanted to collapse. He didn't mind being a waiter; he got to interact with people all day and lunch was free, but sometimes it was so busy and customers could be so mean. He took off his shoes at the front door.

"I'm home!"

Nothing happened. Maybe no one was home. Riku didn't usually take all the pets with him though.

Sora made his way to his room. There was music coming from Riku's room. Sora peeked in. Riku was on his mattress, working on his laptop. Donald, Goofy, and Pluto were all piled on Vanitas, who was sitting by the mattress. Mickey and Minnie were walking around in hamster balls. 

Maybe they should just give Vanitas a key at this point.

Sora continued to his room. He picked out some clothes and took a shower. When he was done, he didn't hear any more music. He went back to Riku's room. Riku was still working on his laptop, but Vanitas was gone. The pets were sleeping in the corner. Maybe this was a good time to talk.

"Riku," Sora plopped down on top of him, "I'm home!"

"Welcome home."

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku's neck and nuzzled his face into his hair. "Whatcha working on?"

"Nothing interesting. I was editing an ad."

"Do you have a lot left to do?"

"No, I just finished."

"That's good."

"How long do you plan on staying like this?"

"Forever."

"Forever?" Riku chuckled.

"Yea."

"Does that mean I'll never see your face again?"

"Yup."

"That won't work." Riku closed his laptop. He rolled over, so Sora was under him then he turned so they were face to face. "This is better, right?"

Sora looked up at him. He kept getting prettier. He wrapped his arms around Riku's neck and pulled him closer. "I guess it's fine."

Was this a good time to ask?

"I missed you," Riku's voice was low and laced with seduction.

Sora couldn't get words out so he just nodded.

Riku kissed Sora on the lips then on the jaw and then started down his neck. Sora's breath caught in his throat. His fingers clenched in Riku's hair. This was new! Riku kissed some spots longer than others, sucking his skin. Sora's mouth released sounds he didn't know he could make.

"Question!" Was the only word Sora could manage to get out.

"Hmm?" Riku kissed his collarbone.

"I---" Riku's hands went up his shirt. Sora's mind when blank. "Don't remember. You're distracting me."

Riku laughed. "Sorry," he removed his hands.

"Right!" Sora sat up. He could breathe again. "It's about Kairi."

Riku pulled away. "Kairi?"

Sora nodded. He told Riku about the conversation they'd had.

"So, would you be okay with that?"

"If you want to date Kairi, that's not really my business."

"Riku," Sora frowned, "I asked if you're okay with it."

"And if I say 'no'?"

"Then I won't do it."

Riku frowned. He was quiet for a long time. "Why? It's not like we're a couple."

"Because this is special and I don't want you to think it's not."

"Sora..." Riku smiled, but it wasn't a real one. "You've always wanted to be with Kairi. Don't let this get in the way. We can just stop."

"Riku…" He didn't want to stop, but maybe all this didn't mean the same things to Riku that it did to Sora. "Okay, I'll go on a date with Kairi then."

"I'm happy for you two." Don't be. Just say not to, it'd stop everything.

"I'm glad!" Liar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... [ I realized that some people might not be familiar with this concept, but it's kind of important to understand the rest of the story. ](https://tinyurl.com/na6zw79) It's never said by name, but it is happening. I'm not sure if you"d consider it a spoiler or not, but here ya' go.


	14. Inactive

Kairi and Sora were on a date. Riku didn't know where they were going or what they'd be doing, just that they were on a date.

Riku was in his room. He wasn't in the mood to write, so he worked on mood boards instead. He didn't think his music was that loud, but apparently it'd been so loud he didn't hear someone enter the apartment. He didn't notice until Roxas plopped down onto the mattress.

"Hey," Roxas looked up at the ceiling, "where is everyone?"

"How did you get in?"

"I used the spare key under the plant by the door." Roxas sat up, "I tried knocking and no one answered."

"You could've called."

"You never answer your phone and those two didn't pick up."

"Fine. What are you here for?"

Roxas stretched, "You're a writer, right?"

"What kind of question is that?" Riku frowned. Even if he wasn't always writing the things he wanted, he was usually writing.

"Don't get mad,” Roxas laughed. "I just forget sometimes that modeling isn't you're main thing."

"Right."

"Want to write a story for next month's Sea Salt?"

Riku sat up. "Really? I thought you guys already had all the slots filled."

"One of our writers dropped out for personal reasons, so we have an open short story slot. You do write stories, right?"

"Yes, I want it!"

Roxas laughed. "I feel kind of bad now. We should have offered you a spot before." He laid back down, "I'll email you the details."

"Cool." Riku tried not to sound too excited but was sure the damage had been done.

"Hey, where are Sora and Kairi? Neither of them work today, that's why I dropped by."

"They're on a date."

"Oh, sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because you look sad."

"I---they can---"

"Want to hang out with me then?"

"Huh?"

"I'm heading to the skate park. A bunch of our friends will be there: Hayner, Pence, Olette, Xion, Ventus, and Vanitas. Probably Seifer's gang too."

"I don't really know anything about skateboarding."

"You don't have to. Just come have fun!"

Well, it wasn't like he was doing anything important anyway. And maybe he didn't want to be alone.

"Okay," he sighed, "I'll come."

He got dressed and headed to the skatepark with Roxas.

The skatepark wasn't very far from their apartment. They walked there without too much trouble. Well, Riku walked; Roxas skateboarded the whole way. There were more people there than Riku had expected, a lot of them were kids and teens. Roxas told him it was like that during the day but usually cleared out around sunset. Until then the adults generally hung out in one kind of secluded area. Roxas led Riku there.

The area where their friends hang out was separated from the rest of the park by a short wall and full of tables. Roxas told him it was a food truck food court that no food trucks ever came to. Xion was sitting at a table with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. She told them Ventus and Vanitas were off skateboarding. Roxas and Hayner left to join them. Not long after that, Xion and Pence left to go record them in case anything funny happened. Olette invited Riku to tag along, but he decided to stay at the table.

Actually, all of them had invited him to come along and he'd rejected each offer. He sighed. He should have gone too. He just wasn't in the mood to socialize.

"Look at the loner," Vanitas pressed a cold can against Riku's cheek.

"Hey," Riku turned to look at him. "I thought you were skating."

"I'm taking a break," Vanitas sat next to him. He handed Riku a soda and opened another. "What are you moping about?"

"I'm not moping."

"That's not what I heard."

Thanks, everyone.

Riku couldn’t think of a response that wasn’t just admitting he was moping, so he didn’t respond.

“We’re going drinking after this,” Vanitas finished his soda, “if you want to join.”

“I can’t legally drink for another couple of months.”

“Oooh,” Vanitas put an arm around his shoulders, “look at the law-abiding citizen.”

Riku rolled his eyes, “Sorry I’m not a rule breaker.”

“Call me when you turn twenty-one, I’ll get you wasted.”

“Somehow that doesn’t sound very appealing.” Riku opened his soda.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” Vanitas grinned.

Their eyes met.

“Seriously though, are you okay?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Okay…” He leaned in closer, “want me to help take your mind off it?”

Was he reading into this or was Vanitas flirting?

“How do you plan on doing that?”

Vanitas tilted his head back and planted a kiss on his lips. “Like that.”

“Okay,” he returned the gesture. 

Vanitas put a hand on his lower back and moved in closer. The kiss started off quick and dry but quickly got deep and wet. Vanitas was surprisingly gentle even as he introduced his tongue into the mix. Riku pulled him in closer, wrapping his arms around him. The world fell away. There was only the feel of his hands, his lips, his tongue.

“Hey!” Vanitas was yanked back by his hoodie. Roxas glared down at him. “I told you to comfort him, not make a move, you degenerate!” 

Riku hadn’t seen Roxas arrive. Actually everyone was there now. When had that happened?

“I can multitask,” Vanitas grinned.

Riku’s face went hot. Roxas took Riku’s hand, “You’re going home!”

“Okay,” Riku was catching his breath.

Roxas kicked Vanitas and pulled Riku behind him. He complained about Vanitas the whole way to the apartment. Riku was still processing. He just made out with Vanitas at a skatepark. That had really happened. His heart was still pounding.

Riku was in his room working on the short story for Sea Salt.

“Hey!” Kairi walked into Riku’s room, “We’re going to Terra’s Studio to work on the table.”

“Have fun.”

“You’re coming!”

Riku looked up from his laptop. “Why?”

“You’re the only one who hasn’t helped at all. You haven’t even seen it.”

“I trust your judgment.”

“Riku, if you don’t help then I’m not letting you sit at it.”

“That’s not f---”

“Don’t!” Kairi crossed her arms. “I don’t want to hear about ‘fair’ from you. You haven't been involved at all!”

“Fine,” Riku got up, “I’m coming.”

They had to ride the bus to get to the neighborhood where Professor Aqua, Terra, and Ven lived. It was a very nice, clean, and bright place. Terra’s Studio was behind their house. Kairi led the way. Sora was right behind her. Riku walked at a distance.

“We’re here!” Sora gestured to the studio, a big grin on his face.

Riku reached the doorway. He looked inside. Among many other projects, there was a large, blue table. The shade of blue was like the ocean. The top of the table was a sandy color. On both long sides of the table were benches of the same color. One of the benches was connected to the table. The benches had several small cushions the shape of seashells lined across the seats. It was pretty.

“Today,” Kairi walked up to the table, “we’re going to glue seashells to the outer edge of the table and then seal them on.”

“Seashells?” Riku stepped closer. Now that he was closer, he could see the center of the table had a paopu fruit carved into it. She’d been putting a lot of work into it.

“I had everyone on the islands send seashells,” Kairi opened a box. “Let’s get started!”

It took a few tries to get into the flow, but the three of them got to work gluing the seashells on. It was fun, even though it took a long time to go all the way around the table with such small shells. At several intervals, Aqua, Terra, or Ven brought them snacks and drinks. When they were done gluing, Kairi started painting on a sealant. Sora and Riku watched.

They ate dinner there before heading home.

When they got back home, Kairi went to shower in her room. Riku won the other shower in a game of ‘Rock! Paper! Scissors!” They both finished around the same time. Sora went to shower.

“It’s really nice,” Riku cut through the silence in the living room. Kairi looked up from her book. “Your table.”

“Our table,” Kairi put her book down.

“Yea,” Riku rubbed his head. “It looks like you put a lot of work into it.”

“I did,” Kairi’s eyes lit up. She started talking about when she’d found it and everything she’d had to do to get it to its current state. She’d had to figure out power tools, search for paints, and find a bench that was similar enough to the other one that they didn’t look weird together. “The paopu fruit was Sora’s idea though.”

“That sounds like him.”

“Yea,” Kairi smiled.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, you’ve helped now. And you can help more with the next project."

"Not about that… I mean I am sorry about that, but I meant I haven't been a very good friend to you lately." Mostly because of the jealousy nesting in his stomach.

Kairi frowned. "You don't have to force yourself to be okay with us."

It was quiet.

"I'm happy for you two."

"No, you're not. I'm not…" She stopped and started a new sentence, "You want us to be happy, but you're not happy for us."

"Kairi…"

"I think that's okay, really." She looked away, "I understand."

Riku frowned. She was right. He wasn't happy for them. It made him feel terrible. They were his best friends. Why couldn't he just suck it up and feel happy for them?

"So," Kairi scooted closer, "what's next on the furniture list?"

Riku shrugged, "A couch?"

Kairi's eyes lit up. They talked about their couch for a long time.


	15. Inquisitive

Finding the right moment to kiss wasn’t easy.

Even after multiple dates, Kairi hadn't kissed Sora, not on the lips. She just wanted her first kiss to be special, especially since it was with Sora. 

According to Sora, his first kiss had 'just happened'. As for Riku… Kairi didn't know anything about his first kiss and she wasn't going to ask now. She did know he was experienced though. Back on the island, he'd dated about half the kids their age. Sure the island was pretty small and he stopped dating girls after he came out, but the total had to count for something. Sora and Kairi had even walked in on him kissing Wakka one time.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Xion leaned on the front counter of the Phamily Photo.

Kairi was on her lunch break, but she hadn't eaten. She was just poking at her salad. She looked up at Xion. "Have you ever been kissed?"

"Wow, how forward of you?" Xion smiled.

Kairi felt her face heating up. "Well?"

"Yea, once or twice."

"With Roxas?"

Xion's whole face went red. "No!"

"Then---"

"No one you'd know."

"Oh. So how was it? Your first kiss?"

"Disgusting," Xion grimaced. "We really didn't know what to do with any part of our mouths."

Kairi frowned. She hadn't considered that it might be gross.

"We had a good laugh about it though."

"Really?" Kairi perked up. "Even though it was bad?"

"Yea, is that a surprise? I mean if you can't laugh off awkward moments like that, why even kiss the person?"

"Good point."

It was true. Even if Kairi was absolutely terrible, Sora wouldn't make her feel bad about it. It'd probably be like that with Xion, too. Kairi shook her head. Why was she thinking that?

After her shift, Kairi walked down the street and waited for Sora's shift to end.

"Hey!" Sora ran up to her, holding a bag of leftovers, "Did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here."

"That's good," he smiled, "How was your day?"

"Uneventful.” She shrugged, "but I remembered something today. Do you remember that time we found Riku and Wakka kissing?"

"Oh, yea!" Sora laughed, "They were so embarrassed!"

"We were all embarrassed!"

"We couldn't look them in the eyes for a week!"

Kairi nodded.

Sora was quiet for a moment. "I wonder why I wasn't jealous back then?"

"What?"

Sora put his hand over his mouth. "Nothing! I just… used to get really jealous whenever Riku was dating someone."

"You two were always so competitive."

"Yea," he looked away, "at the time, it felt like I was jealous of him for being so good at everything, but in hindsight, I don't know." He put his hands behind his head. "I guess I was worried he'd leave me behind."

Kairi was quiet.

"When I heard Riku had his first kiss, I wanted to rush and have mine too."

"Is that the reason you kissed Selphie?"

"I guess so."

"You could've kissed me."

"Really?"

"You didn't even consider it?" Kairi pouted at him.

"Well," Sora rubbed the back of his head, "it wasn't like I didn't think about it, but I was worried I'd be bad at it."

"You probably were."

"Hey!"

"So why do you think you weren't jealous of Wakka?" 

Why did it matter?

Sora thought for a moment. "It's going to sound worse out loud. It already sounds terrible in my head."

"Let's hear it."

"I didn't see him as a threat to our friendship," Sora hesitated. "I guess I knew I was more important to Riku than he was."

"Wow, that's pretty mean."

"I know," Sora covered his face.

"It's nice to know though, that even you have your selfish side."

"Yea, I'm probably more selfish than the two of you combined."

Kairi laughed. She doubted that. She grabbed Sora's hand. "Let's get home!"

"Yea," Sora smiled. He leaned down and pecked her on the lips. It was soft and warm! He pulled away and started forward. 

Kairi smiled. That was nice.

"Who was your first kiss?" Kairi plopped down on Riku's mattress. "You never told me."

Riku looked up from his laptop. His hair was pulled into a loose bun. "Why do you care all of a sudden?"

"I just had my first kiss and I want to compare notes."

"It wasn't anyone you'd know." Riku leaned on his hand. "He was a tourist."

"A tourist?"

Riku nodded.

"So how was it?"

"I was really nervous."

"You were nervous?" Kairi grinned.

"Of course. I'd never kissed anyone before and he was so pretty," Riku sighed.

"If you thought he was pretty, he must've been gorgeous."

Riku threw a pillow at her. "Anyway, it was just simple and clean, a quick peck really. It felt life-changing though. Then he went home and I never saw or spoke to him again."

"Where was he from?"

"I don't remember."

"What was his name?"

"I don't remember that either. Maybe it started with a J..."

"Are you sure you didn't just dream him up?"

Riku shrugged. "Who knows."

"Soooo," Kairi laid down. "What's going on with you and Vanitas?"

"Hm?" Riku clicked on something.

"You know. Has anything changed since you made out?"

"Everything's the same."

"How?" Kairi sat up.

"I don't think he saw it as something romantic. Roxas said he does stuff like that."

"Did you ask Vanitas how he felt about it?"

Riku frowned.

"That's your problem!"

Riku looked up at her, shocked by the loudness of her voice. She was too.

"You are so afraid of being rejected, you never go after the things you want!" Kairi wasn't even sure why she was so angry. There was just a heat washing over her. "You never even ask follow up questions! Vanitas could be head over heels for you and you'd never know."

"That seems unlikely."

"Oh My Gawd!" Kairi dragged her fingers down her face. "It doesn't matter! Just get rejected and move on!"

"Get rejected and move on?" Riku didn't raise his voice, but it was filled with venom. "What do you know about getting rejected? You just had your first kiss with the only person you've ever liked."

Kairi felt irritated. He wasn't wrong, but his words settled in a strange way. They felt so heavy and scary.

"So? What's your point?" She steadied her breathing. "You can have anyone you want."

"You know that's not true..."

Kairi was overtaken by two conflicting emotions. The first one was rage. He could have anyone he wanted, except he wanted Sora! Why couldn't he just …? Why did he have to…? Her blood was boiling.

The second emotion was one she couldn't describe. It was the feeling of her heart getting stuck in her throat at the sadness in his voice. It was the feeling of wanting to throw herself at him and hold him and tell him 'He loves you too. Have you seen the way he looks at you? You two belong together.'

She felt nauseous.

"Vanitas won't reject you." She felt so lightheaded. 

"You don't know that."

"I…" Sora wouldn't reject Riku, would he? Should she tell him? Would he believe her? Did she want him to?

The door opened.

"Is everything okay?" Sora popped in. "I heard yelling."

Kairi put on a smile.

"I'm just trying to tell Riku that he should ask out Vanitas."

"No, he shouldn't!" 

They both looked at Sora. 

Sora covered his mouth, "I--I mean---if that's what you want." Sora ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sure he'll say, 'yes'. Sorry, I have to…" He closed the door behind him.

Kairi felt like she was going to throw up. She also felt… lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, next week is the last update of Off to the City! Time really flies.   
I hope you'll all stick around to see what happens to these three misguided souls.


	16. Birthday

Kissing Kairi and kissing Riku were two completely different things. There was nothing bad about kissing Kairi, it was nice. It was simple and sweet and nice, but there was something missing. It wasn't only kissing that wasn't the same. Nothing was the same. The harder he tried to make their relationship feel more romantic, the more he realized it wasn't. His feelings for Riku and Kairi were completely different. He loved both of them, but not the same way.

"Want to be a model?" Xion stood above Sora's mattress.

He was laying on his stomach drawing. He had noticed someone enter, but from the corner of his eye he'd thought it was Kairi. He looked up.

"Wrong room?"

"No," Xion leaned down. "We're doing a companion piece to the Demons and Darkness shoot. The theme is 'Angels and Light'."

"And you want me?"

"Yup!" She booped his nose. "So?"

"I'll do it!"

Sora wasn't sure what he'd expected from a photoshoot. Axel and Xion spent a lot of time prepping him. There was a lot of makeup. They did his hair and dressed him in an all-white outfit. Xion attached a pair of wings to him. She'd made them herself.

Sora looked in the mirror. He looked like himself, but different. He couldn't really pinpoint the changes though.

Xion led him to the set of the shoot. Namine and Ven were also Angels. Namine had modeled before but, Ven was as new as Sora. Kairi was the photographer. Riku was there for moral support. Vanitas and Rep were there too.

"Let's get started," Kairi finished adjusting her tripod.

Axel had a romantic angle for this shoot too. It was a love triangle that Sora was at the center of. No kisses happened, but he was physically closer to them than he'd ever been before. It didn't feel natural. Sora's awareness of himself skyrocketed. Was his pose weird? Was his expression too stiff? Where were his hands supposed to go?

Namine helped him through it. Soon he was barely even thinking about it. When the shoot was over, Sora felt like a weight was lifted off him.

"Good job!" Kairi gave him a hug and a kiss before running off to take pictures of the scenery.

Sora walked up to Riku. He was talking with Vanitas. He looked as Sora approached.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey," Sora waved. 

Riku walked over to him, "You were great."

"Really?"

"Yea," he ruffled Sora's hair. "You look so pretty."

"Thanks."

Sora couldn't recall a time anyone had called him pretty. Maybe that was the reason he wanted to kiss Riku so much in that moment. He held back; they weren't doing that anymore.

"I should get all of this off my face," Sora kept his eyes down because if he looked at Riku he would want to kiss him.

"Want some help?"

Sora nodded.

Riku followed him to the makeshift dressing room. He got the makeup wipes and sat in front of Sora. He was gentle as he wiped Sora's face.

"How was it?"

"I was so nervous."

Riku laughed, "Really? I couldn't tell."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Is it working?"

"Maybe," Sora looked up at him. "But you know what would work better?"

"What?"

A kiss.

"Ice cream," Sora grinned.

Riku smiled, "Oh, really? I guess we can get dome on the way home."

"Yea!" Sora fist pumped. 

On the way home, Riku treated Sora to the biggest bowl of Ice cream he'd ever had.

Sora had just gotten off of work. He went outside to find Roxas and Xion with Kairi. Roxas was carrying a small cooler.

“Hey,” Sora waved.

“They're coming home with us for Riku's birthday.”

“Oh, this is gonna be fun!" 

As they made their way to the apartment they mostly talked about Sea Salt. They got off the bus together and headed towards the apartment.

“So,” Roxas looked from Kairi to Sora and back, "Are you two together now or what?"

"No."/"Yes."

Everyone stopped.

"Sora," Kairi gave him a strange look, "No?"

“Sorry,” Sora looked away, "can we talk about this later?"

"No, huh?" Kairi looked up. She was thinking. "Okay."

"Okay?"

Kairi nodded.

Roxas and Xion seemed to be having a conversation entirely in looks before Xion fell back to stand with Kairi and Roxas tugged Sora forward. The walk was silent from that point on. They arrived at the complex. They got inside before anyone said anything.

Riku was at the table. He greeted them as they entered.

Roxas held up the small cooler, "Ready to get wasted?"

Riku made a face that said he wasn't.

"I'll drink enough for both of us then," Roxas plopped down at the table.

"I already ordered pizza!" Xion plopped down next to him.

More of their friends started to arrive as time passed. Olette came with Hayner and Pence. Vanitas arrived with Namine and Rep. Even Ven popped in. Riku loosened up after a bit and began enjoying himself. He even drank a little while everyone cheered for him. He was mostly spending time with Vanitas. Sora's stomach felt heavy.

He tried to distract himself with his other friends and the festivities, but he was just getting more irritated. Eventually, he retreated to his room. He plopped onto his bed. An issue of Sea salt fell off the mattress. Sora picked it up. It was the issue where Vanitas and Riku had kissed. Sora frowned. His irritation grew.

There wasn’t any real reason for the feeling, Sora knew that. He’d been there when the pictures were taken. It wasn’t real. They looked really good together…

Of course, they did! That was the point. If they looked bad together it would have ruined the shoot. Sora looked over the shot of their kiss. Did it really need a two-page spread?

He was being ridiculous, he knew that. Maybe it wouldn’t bother him so much if Vanitas wasn’t around literally all the time. He sighed. He just needed to sleep the feelings off. He’d feel better in the morning.

“Hey,” Riku’s voice was quiet. He brushed a hand through Sora’s hair. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yea?” Sora’s voice was heavy with sleep. "Shouldn't you be enjoying your party?"

"The party's over, Sora, only a few people are still hanging out."

"Oh."

"Are you hungry?"

"What's there to eat?"

“Vanitas ordered takeout.”

“I’m not hungry.” He sounded more irritated than he meant to.

“Are you sure you're okay?”

“Perfect.” Sora pulled his blanket over his head.

Riku tugged it off of him. He took Sora’s face into his palms and pressed his lips to his forehead. “You don’t feel warm. Do you have a headache? A stomachache?”

“I’m fine, Riku.”

Riku wasn’t convinced. He left Sora to sleep but kept coming back to check on him. Riku put his hand on Sora’s forehead.

“Rikuuuu,” Sora pushed his hand away, “I can’t sleep if you keep going in and out.”

“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

Sora grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave.”

Riku frowned. "I can come back in a bit, Vanitas is still here."

"Yea, I'm sure he is." Sora didn't mean to sound so angry. "I'm sure you're having a great time with him."

"Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not." He let go of Riku.

Riku stared at him for a moment. "Are you jealous?"

"No, why would I---"

"I'm allowed to have other friends, Sora!"

"Yea," Sora sat up, "of course you are."

"Then what's the problem?"

"You like him!" Sora hadn't meant for the words to slip out.

Riku took a moment to process. "Yea, you're right, I like him. So what?" Before Sora could respond, Riku continued. "I've always loved you, but you want Kairi." 

“I don---You're in love with me?"

"And it doesn't matter anyway because you want to be with Kairi, right? She's all you ever wanted, right? She's the one you kiss in public? She's the one you go on dates with?” He wiped his eyes. Was he crying? “Why do you get to be jealous?”

“Riku!” Sora grabbed his face. “I’m sorry! Don’t cry!”

“I’m not!” Tears were streaming down his face.

“I love you, okay!” Sora wiped his tears. “I can’t even think of living a life that you’re not in. I’m sorry I was jealous. You’re allowed to like whoever you want if it makes you happy, okay? If you want to make out with Vanitas at photoshoots or at the skatepark, or even here, you can. Please, don’t cry! I love you!”

“Why are you crying?”

Sora hadn’t even noticed the tears coming down his face. “I don’t know.”

Riku hugged him. Sora could smell the alcohol on him. “You’re such a crybaby.” Riku kissed his forehead.

They laid down on Sora's mattress and went to sleep.


	17. Breakfast

Riku woke up to bright light coming through the window. Sora was lying next to him. His eyes looked swollen. The memories hit him like a brick. They'd fought last night. There a lot of crying. He couldn't remember the reason they were fighting thanks to everyone's hard work getting him wasted. He caressed Sora’s face. He was in a deep sleep.

Riku sat up. He reeked of alcohol. He walked to his room, peeled off those clothes and put on something clean. He still needed to shower though. He walked out of his room. When Riku was done with his shower, he returned to Sora's room. Sora was still in bed. Riku sat down next to him.

“Morning,” Sora opened his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Riku brushed his fingers through his hair.

“I should be asking you that,” Sora sat up. “How was your first night of drinking?”

“It was fun from what I can remember.”

“That’s good.” Sora put his head on Riku’s shoulder. “I was serious about what I told you last night.”

“Which was?”

“If you like Vanitas, then you should go for it.”

“Oh.” Were Sora and Kairi official now? Was Sora trying to put all those kissing sessions behind him?

“It has nothing to do with me and Kairi.” Sora grabbed Riku by the face and looked him in the eyes. “It's just, if I can't make you happy then maybe he can.”

Riku's eyes went wide. “What?”

“I want you to be happy, even if it's not with me.” 

“Sora,” there was no way he meant that he had feelings for Riku, but he had to be sure, “Do you have feelings for me?”

Sora started a few sentences but didn’t finish any of them. He finally settled down enough to get out, “Yea, sorry.”

“Sorry?”

Sora covered his face. “It wasn’t on purpose and I should have told you as soon as I realized, but I didn’t think I should, because I thought I liked Kairi and---”

Riku cupped Sora’s face. “Calm down.” He hesitated. “Can I kiss you?”

Sora nodded. Their lips made contact. It felt different this time, more meaningful. Riku pulled away. 

"I love you," Sora pulled him into another kiss.

"I love you," Riku repeated as he pressed his lips to his forehead, to his cheeks, his neck…

Sora hummed. When Riku pulled away, he took his face in his palms. He smiled. "I have the prettiest boyfriend in the world."

“Boyfriend?”

Sora grew red under his golden skin. “Y-yea, if you want.” He covered his face. “I want to be your boyfriend.”

Riku felt like his heart would leap out of his chest. He was so happy! Sora wanted to be his boyfriend?

“What about Kairi?”

“I...” Sora looked away, "I don't think I can like her that way. I really tried."

“It’s okay.” Riku put his arms around Sora. 

It was quiet for a bit.

“I want to be your boyfriend too.”

"I--uh--wow." Sora ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't know I wanted to hear that so badly."

Riku felt his face flush. "Really?"

Sora buried his face in Riku’s shirt. “Riku, be my boyfriend. Please?”

“I will.” Riku had never wanted anything more. He kissed the top of Sora's head. Sora tackled him. He placed kisses all over Riku; he kissed his face, his neck, his shoulders, and his hands from fingertips to wrists. Riku returned the favor. They kept exchanging kisses until they were laid out and out of breath.

“We should probably talk to Kairi about all of this," Riku looked at Sora.

"Yea."

It took a long time for Kairi to wake up. When she did, they let her eat breakfast before approaching her and telling her. They sat at the table and talked. Sora took the lead. He told Kairi everything that had happened over the last year and a half. It was interesting to hear from Sora's point of view. Kairi was quiet for a long time. She looked at Sora.

"Huh."

"Huh?" Sora leaned closer, "You're not mad or heartbroken?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Always," Sora smiled.

"I want to be angry or heartbroken, really I do, but I'm just so relieved." She sighed like a building had been lifted off her. "I was feeling the same way about our relationship. I really tried to make it work." She smiled. "I'm happy for you two, like so much happier than I thought I'd be!"

She hugged them both.

Riku was in his room writing when Sora jumped on top of him. Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s neck, his chest was pressed to his back. He planted a kiss on the back of his neck. Riku was in the middle of writing a word but ended up just dragging his pen down the page.

“Sora!” Riku closed his notebook.

“Yes, boyfriend?” He kissed him again.

“Did you need something?”

“Dinner’s ready.” Sora got up.

“Hey, Sora?”

“Yea?”

“I love you,” Riku kissed him on the cheek. “Boyfriend.”

Sora hugged him. "I love you too, boyfriend."


	18. Bliss

Riku was dating Sora now. 

Kairi hadn’t expected it to end up like this, but that was only because of the layers of denial she'd been under. Kairi hadn't felt so light in years. She didn't have to date Sora. She could date anyone she wanted, any  _ girl _ she wanted.

"Lea wants me and Vanitas in a shoot next month," Riku announced over dinner.

"That's good," Sora smiled, "You're going to do great."

“You’re not going to get jealous?” Riku teased Sora.

“No,” he blushed, “I haven’t felt jealous since you became my boyfriend.”

Riku’s face went red. “Yea, right!”

“It’s true!”

They started their banter that was also obviously flirting. Kairi laughed. “Get a room!”

They both went red and quiet. The rest of dinner was uneventful.

So, Kairi could date anyone, right? She didn’t really know who she’d pick though. She hadn’t thought about dating anyone but Sora for so long that she didn’t even know where to start.

She shrugged. There wasn’t really a rush. She wanted it to happen naturally anyway.

Along with industry professionals, Aqua always invited a handful of her students to Creative Nights. It was rarely the same few since she liked giving them all a chance. Many of the professionals changed, too. There was a core cast that showed up to every dinner though. There were their hosts, of course, Aqua, Terra, and Ven. Terra cooked everything and was great at it. Then there was Vanitas, Namine, and Rep, always the first to show up. Vanitas seemed to come just to harass Aqua and pick fights with Ven. Lea, Roxas, and Xion always came with a man named Isa, who was maybe Lea's boyfriend or something. Kairi hadn't talked to Isa much, he was pretty quiet.

When Kairi had first heard of 'Creatives Nights', she'd thought it would be strict and intimidating, but it really was just dinner with friends. Aqua and Terra always took the time to ask the three what they'd been up to, even though it was rarely different.

"Kairi," Xion threw her arms around her, "I got into the Radiant Garden Film Festival." Xion looked up. "Hi, Aqua and Terra."

They greeted her.

"That's great," Kairi smiled, letting herself sink into Xion's warmth.

"Yea! Thanks for pushing me." Xion released her. "You'll come to see it, right?"

"Of course!"

They chatted a bit longer before Riku approached. He'd been talking to Vanitas and Namine for a while.

"Kairi, you have work in the morning, so we should head out soon."

"Okay, mom," Kairi turned to Aqua and Terra, "thanks for having us!"

"Before you leave," Terra made his way to the kitchen, "I'll pack you some leftovers."

Terra always gave them leftovers. He told them there was no way he, Aqua, and Ven could finish everything on their own. While they waited for Terra, they located Sora. He was with Ven and Roxas. Terra brought them three large containers. They were so neatly packed, Kairi doubted he'd just done it.

"It looks so good," Sora was practically drooling, "I want to eat it now!"

Terra handed Sora a small container, also neatly packed. "Eat this instead."

"Thank you!" Sora opened it and started eating it as they left.

Kairi wasn't sure if Sora had caught on, but Aqua, Terra, and Ven were highly aware of their financial troubles. Whether it was Ven buying them lunch, Aqua inviting them to upcycle, or Terra making sure they got enough leftovers to last a couple of days, those three were always helping them. Kairi wanted to thank them one day.

“Guys!” Kairi threw Sora’s door open. Sora was on top of Riku but fell off when Kairi ran in.

“What?” Riku did not hide his irritation.

“We’re going to be late to Xion’s film festival!”

The festival was in a large theater. It was pretty and round. They found their friends, who were all dressed up. There were short films across all genres at varying lengths. Xion’s film was a fantasy adventure starring Olette. In the end, Xion didn’t get any awards, but she was happy just to be included.

Kairi wanted to congratulate Xion again. Roxas told her he'd seen her head outside. Kairi made her way out. She really wanted to see her. She wanted to talk to her and to hold her hand. She wanted to---

Xion's arms were wrapped around Namine.

Oh.

The two kissed.

So that's how it felt. It really hurt. Riku had dealt with this ache for years and never complained, right? Kairi smiled and went back inside. She was happy for them… Or maybe she wanted them to be happy, yea that was it, right?

After the festival, they all went to Patty’s. It must have been strange for passersby to see a bunch of people in fancy clothing, chowing down on burgers. Kairi smiled. Two years ago, she’d been completely new to Radiant Garden, but Radiant Garden had become her home before she even realized it. She couldn't imagine not being here.

They'd found their couch at the thrift store. It was the ugliest thing any of them had ever laid their eyes on. Sora helped take off the upholstery. That's when they found all the cracks in the frame. With some help from Terra, she and Riku learned enough carpentry to replace the pieces necessary while Sora worked on the cushions with Aqua. Ventus helped when he could, but he was taking a lot of trips. They reupholstered the couch and moved it into their increasingly less empty apartment.

To celebrate their finished project, they ordered pizza and watched videos on KeyTube. She drifted while Sora talked about a new game he wanted to play. Kairi smiled as sleep took her. She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends.
> 
> Off to the City is actually the first Kingdom Hearts fanfic I ever wrote. It went through 3.5 drafts to get to this point. It's interesting because it wasn't the story I planned to tell, I just had an idea of the Kh characters as artists and the story kind of just came together on its own. The original ending was very different. I'm much more at peace with this ending though.
> 
> Don't worry about Kairi, she'll get a girlfriend eventually.
> 
> I make no promises, but I still have ideas for this au, so I want to write more of it in the future. The next one would center the lost trio though (Vanitas, Namine, and Repliku).
> 
> Thanks to everyone who stuck around the whole story and commented! It made this experience really good.
> 
> Also, I have [a twitter](https://twitter.com/thebunnymask) if anyone wants to chat with me there.
> 
> Thanks again to everyone!


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